May I?
by Hibernian Princess
Summary: Love is never easy-unless you're Merlin.  Then it's a complete and utter mess that often involves the near-peril of your beloved.  MerlinXOC, T for a bit of violence, don't like, don't read.  Takes place between S1 &S2.  Complete.
1. Revealed

**A/N: For anyone who is following **_**Absolution**_** (my Narnia fanfic), I am NOT giving up on that! I've had this one written for a couple months (all the way done) and just decided to publish it. This fanfiction was with me through a lot of emotional turmoil, so…yep. But I like it and to me, that's the most important part, although I do hope that some other people are able to enjoy it. As usual, I do not own the TV show **_**Merlin**_** or any of the characters/settings/events that you recognize from the TV series. They belong to BBC/NBC/SyFy/all the people who wrote the Arthurian legends that the show is based off of.**

* * *

It was a very ordinary day in Camelot.

"Merlin, have you forgotten?" Arthur snapped, eyes flashing.

The prince's young manservant looked around, baffled. It seemed as if he had done every chore imaginable in the past few hours. "Forgotten what, Sire?" he asked innocently, glancing around the chamber again.

"My _dinner_ Merlin!" Arthur spat, smacking Merlin on the back of the head. His manservant barely flinched.

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled, turning to leave.

"Idiot," Arthur hissed, loud enough for Merlin to hear.

Once Merlin was out the door and a suitable distance down the corridor, he muttered, "Prat," but continued dutifully towards the kitchens.

As always, servants were scurrying about the kitchens, looking for ingredients and bringing trays of food to their lords or ladies. "I'm looking for Prince Arthur's dinner," Merlin called, looking around for anyone who might be able to help him.

"I believe I have what you need," a crisp voice behind him stated.

Merlin turned to see a young woman about his age holding a tray. He reached to take it as she moved forward, resulting in the tray and all of its contents spilling onto the floor.

"Oh , well done!" the girl snapped sarcastically as she dropped to her knees to recover the fallen tray and its contents.

"S-sorry," Merlin stammered, kneeling on the ground in an attempt to help recover his lord's ruined dinner. "I really didn't—"

"I _really_ don't care what you did not do or did not _mean_ to do!" she cried, mocking Merlin as though he were several years younger than her. "What _irks_ me is that you managed to undo my work with shocking speed and agility! Perhaps this time I should let _you_ prepare the tray and I will bring it up to His Highness!"

Merlin looked around, making sure that everyone in the kitchen was too busy to pay any mind to their conversation. "Just…put it back," he whispered.

"What?" the kitchen girl snapped, her tone sharp enough to draw attention.

"You were the one who—"

"I know, but I have no intention of giving the prince food that has fallen on the floor!" she said vehemently.

"It won't kill him. Besides, he's a bit of a—" Merlin cut himself off, glanced around the room and leaned closer to the girl.

Unfortunately, she moved when Merlin did and their heads collided. "Ouch," she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut in pain. "Just…do something. I need to go," she sighed as she arose, leaving Merlin sitting on the floor.

He began to recover the contents of Arthur's tray, wondering why everyone seemed to be so irritable today.

* * *

Arien practically danced through the corridors of Camelot. Her work for the day was done and she was free to enjoy the bit of daylight that remained. As she walked, she saw the boy who had brought Prince Arthur his food earlier. _I ought to apologize. He didn't mean to knock the tray over_, she pondered, approaching him. "You brought the prince his dinner today, correct?" she called.

The young man started and nearly ran into a column. "Uh, yeah," he replied, looking quickly around.

"I wanted to apologize for snapping at you earlier. I'm…not exactly used to how busy it is here, and it can be a bit overwhelming at times," she confessed.

"No, no, it's all right. I'm used to it from Arthur. Worse, actually," he revealed, smiling.

Arien looked around cautiously. "And you are not afraid of speaking of the prince so…unfavorably?" she inquired.

"You could say that we have a bit of an understanding," he explained.

"I see. You are his manservant?" she wondered.

The young man nodded vigorously. "Yeah, my name's Merlin," he stated, extending his hand.

"Arien," she replied, shaking his hand with a smile.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but I've got to go clean Arthur's armor," Merlin revealed, making an expression of disgust.

"Sounds thrilling," Arien remarked sarcastically. "I suppose I shouldn't detain you any longer…but maybe I will see you tomorrow?" she pondered.

"Yeah, I hope so. Not that I'll be disappointed if I don't but it'd be nice if—"

"Are you always so…awkward around women?" Arien asked him, trying to hide her smile.

"Course not," Merlin muttered, nearly running into the column again.

"As I thought," Arien remarked, smiling slyly as she walked away…and into another servant.

Merlin turned, hiding his grin as Arien apologized profusely to the middle-aged woman she'd nearly knocked over. "It's contagious," he whispered to her when she turned around.

"Apparently," Arien said as she walked away, waving to Merlin.

For a few minutes after they parted, Arien and Merlin both wore ridiculously massive grins.

* * *

"How was it, Arien?" Aurelia asked as her young friend entered her petite cottage.

Arien groaned, pulling her fingers through her hair. "I finally understand why you come home in such a foul mood some days," she confessed. "It's not easy work. At times, it seemed like it'd never end."

"But you worked quite a bit back in Greendale. Is this really so different for you?" Aurelia wondered.

"I worked for my family back home, so I could take a moment to rest now and then. Now, it's just running around for hours on end. If anyone sees me standing still for even _one second_, they immediately tell me to do some pointless little task!" Arien exclaimed agitatedly.

"Be glad that you got the job you have, though. I hear that the royal family's servants have the worst of it," Aurelia said, trying to comfort her young friend.

"I can imagine. I met Prince Arthur's manservant earlier and from what I could tell, he wasn't overly thrilled about his master," Arien explained.

Aurelia's eyebrows arched mischievously. "What did you think of _him_, Arien?" she asked, a smile upturning her mouth slightly.

"He was very nice," she replied, her tone incredibly civil.

"Of course. That's how it will start," Aurelia remarked. "First, it's, 'Oh, he's a very nice boy,' then you'll be saying, 'How I love the prince's manservant! He's so handsome and dashing and I want to kiss him _all day_!' Then one evening you'll come home with a ridiculously large smile on your face and I'll get to hear the story of your first kiss," she explained, impersonating Arien's voice in a rather unflattering manner.

"I don't believe you'll be hearing that anytime soon," Arien revealed.

Aurelia grinned. "I am an expert, Arien. Before meeting Omar, I made plenty of my own mistakes, one of them being my failure to realize how valuable Omar was at first."

"Ah yes. He should be asking for your hand quite soon now, no?" Arien inquired.

Immediately, Aurelia blushed. "I couldn't tell you," she said in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"So eager to talk about my romantic life—which doesn't even exist—but as soon as there's mention of your own, your face goes red as a tomato," Arien pointed out, trying not to giggle.

"Oh hush," Aurelia said, playfully shoving her young friend. "Remember who is providing you with food and shelter."

Arien replied, "I couldn't forget. Which reminds me…thank you. If you hadn't opened your home to me, I'd be…"

"Living on the streets?" offered Aurelia.

"I was actually thinking 'dead,' but that would also fit nicely," Arien pondered.

"Either way, you're very welcome. Life is considerably more interesting with you around…and it may get even more fascinating once you and—what was the fellow's name?"

"Merlin," Arien provided, sounding rather unhappy, though she was blushing.

"Yes, once you and Merlin begin to write your beautiful love saga, I will be quite glad that I took you in," Aurelia stated, mischief glinting in her brown eyes.

"Oh dear," Arien sighed. She already knew that Aurelia was greatly enjoying her nonexistent romance with Merlin.

* * *

Merlin's steps were heavy as he strode the corridors of Camelot. He was not doing anything, but he was so exhausted that even walking felt like an unnecessary exertion.

"Merlin!" a cheerful feminine voice called.

He looked ahead to see Arien walking towards him. "Arien, how've you been?" he wondered, smiling wearily.

"Ready to be done," she whispered, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you feel the same way."

"Oh, you have _no_ idea," he replied.

Arien smiled slightly before saying, "I haven't seen you for a few days…though I assume you've been quite busy, what with Prince Arthur nearly dying."

"Yeah, that took up quite a bit of time," he revealed. _Between trips to the Isle of the Blessed, I couldn't do much else._

"I can imagine. Life as a servant is…exhausting," Arien sighed. "But I suppose it will get easier with time."

"It does," Merlin promised. "What did you do before you started working as a servant?

"I lived with my family in the village of Greendale," Arien began. "We had…well, my parents had a farm many years ago, but I can't remember it. We had sheep and pigs when I was young, but we had to butcher the sheep when I was about thirteen. Times haven't been easy for my family, especially since there are eight of us."

"Eight?" Merlin wondered, shocked.

"Yes. My sister, Aurelia, left home a few years ago and came here. I joined her to ease the strain on my family. They won't have me to help with the pigs and weaving, but it's one less mouth to feed," she explained.

"That must have been…difficult," Merlin said.

"Leaving home or knowing that my family was impoverished?" Arien wondered.

"Both," he replied.

"It's strange, leaving somewhere so familiar to pursue something new," Arien pondered.

"I know," Merlin muttered.

Arien looked at him, her emerald eyes urging him to continue. "My mother sent me here because…she thought I could be something more," he clarified. "I didn't—don't—know my father."

"I'm sorry, Merlin," Arien murmured. "It must have been so difficult to leave your mother and come somewhere where you knew no one."

"It was, but…I'm used to it. Things are different for me here," he stated.

"I can imagine so. You went from an ordinary village boy to Prince Arthur's manservant in a matter of days," Arien pointed out, silently asking for a deeper explanation.

"Actually, I was just supposed to help Gaius—the court physician. Serving Arthur just…I dunno, happened," Merlin said.

Arien nodded in response and shifted rater uncomfortably on the spot. She wanted to continue talking with Merlin, but wasn't entirely sure what to say. Outside of her brothers, her contact with the opposite sex had been rather limited.

"So…why did you pick Camelot?" Merlin inquired in a desperate attempt to keep their conversation alive.

Arien smiled. "My sister chose it, actually, so I followed her. I'm glad she did, though—I like it here," she explained. _And I like _you_, but platonically_, she thought.

"Well that's good. Camelot is an interesting place to live," said Merlin.

"To me, any place is interesting. Greendale was a very ordinary village and my family was no exception to the monotony. Every day, I would wake up and do the same thing. I suppose I miss that a bit now—at least I was good at everything I had to do. Here—" Arien cut herself off, laughing.

Upon seeing Merlin's look of perplexity, she continued. "My first day here, they decided to let me make bread. Out of everything I've ever cooked, bread is probably what I'm worst at—and the fact that my family never had yeast didn't help very much."

Merlin grinned at her. "And you forgot the yeast?" he wondered.

Arien shook her head. "I wish that was all. I was a bit frazzled, so…somehow, it…um, exploded," she confessed, trying not to laugh.

Merlin lacked Arien's impeccable self-control and began laughing as soon as Arien paused. He looked so happy and free that Arien couldn't stop herself from joining him.

"I'm shocked they allowed me in the kitchens after that," Arien confessed once she'd caught her breath enough to speak. "But it's good that they did or I wouldn't be talking with you right now."

"And I wouldn't have gotten to feed Arthur that _interesting_ meal," Merlin pointed out.

"No, of course not," Arien murmured with a smile. "Did he say anything about any sort of…unusual flavor?"

"Actually, he didn't," Merlin said lightly. "Which is stranger than if he'd mentioned an odd taste."

Arien giggled. "I can't believe it," she said in moderate awe. "How often does this happen?"

"Almost never. Usually the kitchen staff is less friendly than you," Merlin explained.

"Worse than me that day?" Arien inquired, making a face of disgust. "I was very rude to you at first."

"Well, usually I'm not allowed to serve Arthur food that fell on the floor," he clarified, "so what you did was rare."

"Then I'm glad something good happened because of my poor behavior," she murmured.

Before either one of them could speak another word, an angry male voice shouted, "Merlin!"

Prince Arthur strode into sight, his eyes narrowed at his manservant. "Merlin, do you happen to remember what was asked of you _twenty minutes ago_?" the prince asked, speaking through his teeth.

Merlin stared blankly at his master for a moment. "Get your bedclothes!" he exclaimed, then added in a more resigned tone, "Sorry."

"Right you are, Merlin. The only question that remains is…what shall I do with you _now_?" Arthur pondered.

"It's not his fault, my liege. I was the one who distracted Merlin from his duties," Arien admitted, her head lowered.

"I can see how that would happen," Arthur mumbled, his gaze shifting bemusedly between Arien and Merlin.

Merlin and Arien looked at one another with wide eyes. "N-no, she didn't distract me like _that_!" Merlin declared passionately. Arien, who was the color of snow, nodded dumbly at Arthur.

"Whatever you say, Merlin," Arthur remarked, sarcasm heavy in his voice before stating, "Once my bed is made, muck out my stables."

"Yes Sire," Merlin responded as Arthur walked away.

"I suppose I should let you go now," Arien said.

"Yeah, I have to get to work," Merlin added. "But I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Probably. I'll be running around all day—we should meet up at some point," she answered. "Bye, Merlin," she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Bye Arien," he whispered once she was out of sight.

* * *

Dragging his feet every step of the way, Merlin continued to the stables. He wanted to look for Arien, but he'd neglected his duties enough for one day.

"I thought I'd take over this particular duty for you. Besides, it was my fault that you were detained…so I think you should go."

Arien's voice drifted out of the stables. She spoke quickly so that Merlin could not say anything until she was done. "No, I stopped, so it was my fault too. Arthur would know if I didn't do it anyways," he objected.

"Well, I'll help then. I have a little experience from the pigs back home," she decided.

"These horses are _much_ larger than pigs," Merlin remarked.

"So I've noticed," Arien stated. "Cleaning out the pigpens is one thing that I'll never miss about home…especially since they often enjoyed pushing me in."

Merlin made a face of disgust. "Must've been awful," he mumbled.

"It was…but they ended up down there with me most of the time," she exclaimed, a playful glint in her eye. "So if you even think about—"

"Trust me, I wasn't," Merlin confessed.

"Good," she said with a grin, grabbing a pitchfork from the wall. "I just need to do one…thing," she murmured, propping the pitchfork against the wall.

Arien shook her hair out of its updo and shook it out. Merlin watched in awe as the ends of her hair caught the light for a split second before her loosely curled dark blonde hair fell past her shoulders. "Be glad you don't have _this _to deal with," Arien griped as she pulled her hair back up.

"Mmm," muttered Merlin, who was staring at Arien in awe.

She glanced in his direction and cleared her throat discreetly. He was so easily enthralled. _This could cause problems_, she realized, though she was secretly pleased with Merlin's attention.

"Right, the horses," Merlin mumbled, looking quickly away from Arien.

"Well _this_ should be absolutely wonderful," Arien remarked sarcastically, trying to break the tension.

"Oh believe me, it _always_ is," Merlin replied.

"Exactly how often does Arthur make you do this?" Arien wondered.

"Whenever I make a mistake worth punishing. It's either this or the stocks," he answered, grimacing.

Arien rolled her eyes. "I can see why he's not your favorite person," she muttered.

"Well, Arthur's not _all_ bad," Merlin quickly explained. "He has moments of…not being a prat."

Arien laughed. "Beautifully phrased," she remarked. "At least you're honest about it."

Merlin mumbled something in agreement. Honesty was not his favorite subject; his hidden talent for magic forced him to lie more often than not. Desperately wanting to change the subject, he asked Arien, "What do you think of the prince?"

"I…don't think I could say. Everything I know about His Highness comes from what I've heard from other people, except what happened today. I think he could grow up to be a great king, but right now…he's not quite ready," Arien clarified.

"I think you're right," Merlin said. _She's exactly right_.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, both thinking deeply. When Merlin glanced at Arien, he noticed that she had a wistful expression on her face, as if she was thinking about something that was incredibly far away. "What are you thinking about?" he wondered.

"Home. I miss it more than I expected, especially when I'm doing something that reminds me of it so strongly—even something I generally hated. It's strange to be doing this without five boys pulling on your skirts and trying to knock you down," she confessed. "Not that you're poor company," she added quickly, "just…a bit more civilized and intelligent than my brothers.

"I don't think many people would agree with the 'intelligent' part," Merlin pointed out.

"Hmm," Arien said. "You seem rather bright to me."

"Feel free to change your mind," he replied.

"Call me a fool for saying this, but I don't expect to," Arien promised.

They worked side by side for nearly two hours, talking for most of that time. Once they were finished, Merlin and Arien both looked exhausted and moderately disgusted. "Thanks, Arien. It would've taken forever without you," Merlin confessed.

"Well…I'm glad it wasn't completely miserable. Maybe we should be a bit more…_discreet_ when talking in the halls. No offense, but I don't really want to repeat this," Arien explained.

Merlin nodded in agreement. "Bye," he called to her as they walked in separate directions.

"You look a bit too pleased with yourself to have just finished mucking out Prince Arthur's stables," Gaius remarked as Merlin entered his dwelling.

"Well, I had a bit of help," Merlin said nonchalantly, tossing his jacket onto a nearby chair.

"Good heavens, you didn't use—"

"No, no!" Merlin cut Gaius off quickly. "Not magic. A friend."

"Apparently this 'friend' is rather exceptional if he or she makes cleaning the stables a task to smile about," Gaius pondered.

"She's not…we're not…she's just good to talk to," clarified Merlin.

Gaius looked slyly at Merlin and said, "I'm glad you've found such a valuable friend, Merlin. Would you like to tell me more about her?"

"Her name's Arien. She just came here from Greendale a few days ago," Merlin explained.

"Ah, is she the one who exploded the bread?" Gaius wondered bemusedly. At Merlin's expression of confused shock, he continued, "It's not exactly a secret, Merlin. When something that…interesting happens here, it won't soon be forgotten."

"Oh. Well, she seems to think otherwise," Merlin said.

"Anyways, I'm glad that you've found a friend," Gaius said.

"Me too," Merlin replied.


	2. Brant

**A/N: Happy New Year! Since this chapter is short (technically it's not even a chapter; in the document containing this completed fanfic, I called it an "interlude"), I'm publishing the next one right after it. Hope you like it and thanks for reading/subscribing/favoriting this story! I do not own any of the characters, settings, or events from **_**Merlin**_** (that would be AMAZING if I did!); they belong to NBC/BBC/SyFy/creators of Arthurian legend.**

* * *

His bride had been scheduled to arrive over a week ago so that he could acquaint himself with her. At some point in that time frame, he had received a brief letter from her family.

_ Lord Brant:_

_ I apologize deeply for my daughter's tardiness. Arien left us a few days ago without saying anything to indicate her departure. In the note she left, she said that she'd run away because someone had told her that you enjoy mistreating women. Had I known that Arien would be so easily deceived, I would have told her that you are an honorable man who genuinely cares for her. Due to our limited resources, my family and I are unable to search for her. I would greatly appreciate it if you could find my daughter._

_With sincerity,_

_Devon_

He had burned the letter after reading it. Any mention of his mistreatment of women could cause trouble, even an innocent mention from an idle mind. It was not good that someone knew of his true nature and had informed Arien of it—he would've enjoyed her. Besides, he couldn't afford for anyone to know what he did; it would ruin his reputation as an honorable lord.

Hastily, he scribbled a reply on a scrap of parchment sitting in a large pile on his desk.

_Devon:_

_ I will not hesitate to look for Arien. I love her and only want to see her safe. There are many dangers in the world that she does not know about; however, I am not one of them. _

_The best, _

_Lord Brant_

After ordering a servant to send the letter to Arien's family, Brant gathered a few belongings and set off to look for his fiancée.


	3. Hidden

**A/N: Second chapter; hope you love it! Again, **_**Merlin**_** belongs to NBC/BBC/SyFy/people who wrote Arthurian legend. Not me.**

* * *

"Arien!" a voice hissed.

Nearly dropping the bowl she was holding, Arien turned around to see Aurelia standing behind her, fear in her eyes.

"What?" Arien muttered, walking slowly away from the other kitchen servants who surrounded her.

"A man named Lord Brant has arrived in Camelot," Aurelia said urgently. "He is tall and strong and…he looks at women with such a disturbing expression."

"It's him," Arien whispered. "Thank you, Aurelia. I'll keep out of sight today and I won't come home until later tonight. It's been quite a while since he saw me last; I left home almost a month ago and the last time I saw him was a few weeks before that, so his memory of me will not be perfect."

"You're welcome," Aurelia replied, pausing for a moment before she added, "Arien…be careful. When you come home tonight, _do not_ come alone. He won't be expecting you to be with anyone."

"I will be," Arien promised, embracing her friend. "Hopefully he'll leave soon."

"So do I. I'd feel horrible if something happened to you," Aurelia said as she turned to leave.

"And I you. Bye," Arien called softly.

For a few moments, she stayed where she was, taking a few deep breaths as she allowed her mind to process what was happening. She would have to keep herself hidden, but not make it obvious that she was trying to do so. In Camelot, the best way to do that was to keep working as if nothing had happened.

* * *

"Merlin, do you happen to know what you've forgotten _this_ time?" Prince Arthur asked his servant harshly.

"Um…" Merlin pondered, thinking of all the chores he'd been assigned.

"Since you apparently cannot think for yourself, I'll give you a hint," Arthur began. "First clue: my father is currently hosting a tournament. Second clue: I participated in that tournament today. Need I continue?"

"Your armor!" Merlin cried in exasperation.

"Yes, _Mer_lin, my armor," remarked Arthur through his teeth. "It was rather dull today when I fought in the tournament."

"Sorry, Sire," Merlin muttered, knowing that he would be punished.

"Oh, you're _sorry_!" Arthur exclaimed sarcastically. "Of course. Apologizing for making me appear foolish will make it better."

Merlin winced, knowing what was coming. "After you've adequately polished my armor, go to the stocks."

"Yes , Sire," Merlin sighed as he went off to do his work.

* * *

Arien skulked around the edges of Camelot's main square, hiding herself in plain sight. She kept her head up but was careful not to look at anyone directly. If she acted relatively natural, Brant and his agents would not find her easily.

Glancing over at the stocks, she saw a young man who had just been released from them. He turned around and began to walk dejectedly towards her. "Merlin!" she called, walking quickly towards him so that he wouldn't call her name.

"Oh, hi," he said with a rather dejected smile. "Arien, I'm not exactly in the state to talk."

"I figured," she replied, looking at his fruit-and-vegetable-covered head and shoulders. "I have a rather large favor to ask, one that can't wait much longer."

"Go ahead," Merlin urged her.

"Could I possibly stay in your house for a few hours? I'll help you get rid of that," she suggested, gesturing to the rotten fruit and vegetables.

Shock shot through Merlin's body. After nearly a month of knowing Arien, he would finally be able to see her outside of her duties. "Yeah, of course," he replied. "Any…particular reason why you're not going home?"

"Well, to make a long story short, there's a man named Lord Brant who recently arrived in Camelot. He came to my village once and…did horrible things to women. Aurelia—my sister—and I found out from a woman who was beaten halfway to death by the man. He was looking for us and I'm afraid that if he sees either one of us here, he might take us," Arien clarified. She felt rather sick from lying to Merlin, but she didn't want anyone else to know what was between her and Brant.

Merlin's eyes were wide with horror, though under the shock was a small glimmer of disappointment at the fact that Arien was not just making excuses in order to spend more time with him. "Stay as long as you need," he told her.

"Thank you, Merlin," she murmured, stretching a bit to give him a one-armed hug. To her, the embrace was simply friendly, but it sent shivers running through Merlin's spine.

"Um…I'll show you the way," he said awkwardly, leading her towards Gaius's tower. "Is your sister all right?"

"She's fine as far as I know. We agreed not to have any contact until later tonight, so she'll be with her dearest beloved until later," Arien stated. "Omar," she clarified upon receiving Merlin's confused look.

"Oh. And you're not staying there?" he inquired.

"Aurelia and I figured that if one of us is found, the other might as well be somewhere else. Besides, you and I are never able to talk when we're not running all over the castle," said Arien. "And if we _are_ able to have a conversation, at least one of us gets in trouble."

"Yeah, this'll be better," he remarked.

"I hope so, since you didn't seem to be enjoying the stocks," Arien pointed out.

"They're horrible. I forgot to clean Arthur's armor, so…" Merlin trailed off unhappily.

"I'm sorry. The concept of having rotten fruit thrown at your face doesn't seem appealing, especially when people do it voluntarily," Arien said.

"Not exactly, but it's happened plenty of times," Merlin revealed.

Arien made a noise of disgust. "Sometimes you remind me of my brothers," she pondered aloud. "They didn't have good excuses for coming home covered in food, though."

Merlin felt his heart sink with disappointment when he heard Arien compare him with one of her brothers. "Here it is, just up these stairs" he said, gesturing to the winding steps that led to Gaius's tower.

Arien followed Merlin up a few flights of steps and through the door. The room she entered was beyond cluttered. Books and scrolls were stacked across a multitude of tables, most of which also contained strange-looking bottles with dried herbs or odd-looking potions. "Wow," she muttered.

"I know, it's a bit…disorganized," Merlin explained, shifting some of the disorganization around.

"Well, Gaius _does_ have a rather demanding job," Arien thought aloud.

"Yeah. Arien, will you…?" Merlin wondered, holding a bowl and gesturing to his head.

"Oh, of course," she replied. "Just lean down a bit."

Merlin listened and Arien began picking the various pieces of fruit out of his hair. Her touch was quick, but it still made Merlin's stomach twist strangely. In order to keep his mind off the sensation, he asked Arien, "D'you know what your brothers had been doing when they came home…like this?"

Arien laughed. "None of them ever told me directly, but I think they fought. Usually it was just boys having fun, but there were a few times when the older ones would come home with cuts or black eyes," she explained. "Of course, they didn't want our mother to know what happened, so I was unofficially given the job of cleaning them up."

"Wonderful," Merlin remarked sarcastically. "I hope you don't mind—"

"No, not at all. Especially since you're possibly protecting my life for a few hours," Arien replied.

"I come home to the most _fascinating_ things," Gaius's voice remarked. "Merlin, I don't believe I've met your friend."

"Oh, hi Gaius," Merlin said in a rush. "This is Arien. Is it okay if she stays for a while?"

"Yes, it's quite all right, but may I ask why she's here?" he wondered.

"A man called Lord Brant is here. He once visited my village and was known for abusing women. My sister and I are trying to keep ourselves hidden because he almost ensnared us when he was in Greendale," Arien clarified.

"I see. In that case, welcome. Merlin doesn't usually bring visitors home," Gaius revealed.

Before Gaius could say anything else, Merlin rapidly pulled his head up and shook it back and forth vigorously, indicating that Gaius shouldn't ask Arien about a non-platonic relationship with Merlin. A piece of apple inconveniently flew out of his hair and hit Arien in the cheek. "Good to know I'm appreciated," she remarked with a hint of sarcasm, though she was smiling.

"Sorry," Merlin muttered, lowering his head so that Arien could finish removing the rotten fruit and vegetables from it.

"No need to apologize, since I'm…done!" she exclaimed, pulling one last bit of lettuce off of Merlin's neck.

"Thanks Arien," Merlin said. "I'm just going to…get rid of some of this," he added as he turned and headed down a short hall into a side room, closing the door behind him.

_Such a boy! _ Arien thought, slightly upset. _Doesn't he understand that it's incredibly awkward for me to be left alone with someone I barely know?_

_Even if he _is_ covered in rotten food_, she mentally added after a brief pause.

"So Arien," Gaius began, "why did you decide to leave your family in Greendale?"

"I have eight siblings and the burden of feeding us all was too much on my parents. I offered to leave, even though that means there will be fewer hands to work," Arien explained. "As long as my brothers spend a bit more time working and less time arguing with one another, my absence will make things a lot easier."

"Ah. And who are you staying with?" Gaius wondered.

By now, Arien understood that she was being interrogated. Lying about her life had become despicably easy for her, but it still twisted her intestines unpleasantly. "My sister, Aurelia, came here a while ago for the same reason I did. I'll stay with her until she marries or I find somewhere else to live."

Gaius nodded, a silent acknowledgement of his approval. Arien shifted to a place closer to the door Merlin had entered, praying that he would come back soon. As soon as she saw the door, Arien took a few steps in Merlin's direction. "You could've waited about three seconds longer," Merlin reminded her, grinning.

"I know, but standing down there with someone I'm not well acquainted with is…rather uncomfortable. Besides, you still have something…"Arien trailed off as she reached up to pull what might have been part of a tomato from Merlin's forehead.

As she drew her hand away, Arien noticed how close she was standing to Merlin. His piercingly blue eyes were wide. It suddenly struck Arien how important it was not to become too close to Merlin—she didn't want to drag him into the Brant situation. _So far, I've defied Aurelia_, she reminded herself, awkwardly squishing herself against the wall, trying to allow Merlin to walk past her. "This isn't working," she muttered before continuing down the short hall ahead of him.

Merlin stood in shock for a few moments before following Arien. He'd never met anyone like her—she was so vibrant. She actually made him look forward to his duties because every day held the possibility of seeing her.

As he re-entered Gaius's study, Merlin knew for sure that he fancied Arien.

* * *

"I think I can go now," Arien decided, peering cautiously out of Gaius's window. "Thank you for protecting me—both of you," she added, smiling warmly at Merlin and Gaius.

"We didn't have to do much, since Lord Brant didn't choose to search this particular tower," Gaius remarked.

"No, but still…I really appreciate it," Arien confessed. "Bye, Merlin," she called to him sweetly, smiling again.

"Wait!" he called. "I'll walk you there."

"Thanks, Merlin," she said. "I'd stick out a bit, walking the streets alone at night like this."

"Yeah, I don't want him to find you after you worked so hard to stay away from him," Merlin stated. _And I get to be with you, which is wonderful._

Arien followed Merlin out the door, where he waited for her to show him the way. "Left," she murmured. "I'll tell you where to go, but act like you're leading me."

"Any reason why?" he wondered.

"The man should _always_ lead," Arien whispered.

Merlin nodded in agreement as he pondered the potential double meaning of Arien's statement. He strode along the narrow road quickly, carefully watching every corner they passed. "Merlin, slow down!" Arien called, several paces beyond him. "If you walk that quickly, anyone who sees us will suspect something."

"Right. I'll slow down," he promised her, standing still until Arien caught up to him.

"This is better," she decided. "At least we can talk now."

"Yeah," Merlin muttered before adding more audibly, "What'd you think of…"

"Gaius? Where you live? The fact that I saw you covered in rotten fruit?" Arien inquired.

Merlin laughed. "All, I guess," he replied.

"Gaius is very nice…and _extremely _protective of you, if you hadn't noticed. While you were cleaning up, he gave me a thorough interrogation," Arien said, rolling her eyes with the hint of a grin.

"Yes, um, sorry about that. I had to…well, you know," Merlin explained awkwardly.

"It's fine," Arien responded sincerely. "Right now," she added, indicating where Merlin should turn next.

Arien slowed her pace a bit and looked up at the sky. "Unfailing beauty, every night, no matter where I am. It's rather refreshing, don't you think?" she asked Merlin.

"Mmm," he agreed, looking heavenwards as he thought of Arien.

"We're almost there. Just take the next left," she told Merlin. "And…I know I've said it before, but thank you. I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

It seemed to Merlin as if Arien intentionally placed an emphasis on "friend," but he wasn't sure. "Well, you've helped me muck out Arthur's stables _and_ picked rotten food off of me, so I think we're even," he replied.

"Either way, I really do appreciate this," Arien told him.

They turned onto the road on which Arien lived. "Third on the left," she said.

"Right. Here we are," Merlin stated, standing uncomfortably near the door.

"Night, Merlin," Arien said, stretching a bit to hug him. This time, Merlin overcame the heart-stopping shock of her touch and hugged her back.

"See you tomorrow, Arien," he told her.

Before Arien turned and went into Aurelia's house, she glanced momentarily into Merlin's eyes. They were exploding with light in all directions—Merlin was like a beacon of joy. Deep down, Arien wanted to remark on it, but knew that she couldn't say anything that wasn't flirtatious.

_And that's the last thing I want to deal with, _she thought.


	4. A Bit of Help

**A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. You guys have totally made my life! My heart literally dances with joy every time I get an email notification for this story. So…I would like to thank KWink, Panflute owl, jaqkd, NightWindAlchemist, Terrorist Of The Seven Seas, leen01, DarkAngel2112, AntiqueLifeSupportDoll, and Khridahna for favoriting, subscribing to, and/or reviewing my story—along with everyone else who's read this. Knowing that people actually read my writing (and better yet, **_**enjoy**_** it!) turns me into a glowing ball of light. Anywho, for those of you from the U.S. (like me), S3 premieres Friday at 10/9 C on Syfy! (I feel like a commercial, but hey…gotta get the word out somehow.) As usual, I don't own **_**Merlin**_**; it belongs to BBC/NBC/Syfy/the Arthurian legend people. Enjoy. :D**

* * *

"Merlin, where is your brain?" Arthur asked Merlin. The boy had barely said a word all day—and Arthur had called him an idiot _thrice_!

"Dunno, Sire," Merlin replied disconnectedly.

"It must be further away than normal," Arthur muttered to himself before adding more audibly, "Really Merlin, what is it?"

"What's what?" his manservant asked innocently.

"_Mer_lin, not everyone's as big of an idiot as you are. I can tell something's on your mind," Arthur clarified.

"And that bothers you, Sire?" Merlin wondered, perking up a bit.

"It bothers me because your mind isn't turned towards your chores, _as it should be_," Arthur stated in firm denial of concern for Merlin's personal life.

"Oh. Well I'll stop, then," Merlin said, obviously pleased with himself for coming up with a solution so quickly.

"I don't want you to _stop_, Merlin—I can't make you do that. Tell me, what's so much more important that your duties?" Arthur inquired, leaning back in his chair with an expression of amusement upon his face.

"Just thinking, Sire," Merlin responded as lightly as he could.

"About _what_, Merlin?" Arthur asked through his teeth.

"Things."

"_Merlin_, quit being difficult and get to the point!" Arthur shouted.

"A person," Merlin mumbled, praying that Arthur had tortured him enough for the next hour or so.

"And by a 'person,' I assume you mean a _girl_. May I ask who the lovely lady is?" Arthur wondered, sadistic pleasure in every syllable he spoke.

"Arien, Sire," Merlin said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Ah, _Arien_. The kitchen girl who exploded my bread nearly a month ago," Arthur recalled. "The two of you would complement one another quite nicely. Tell me, Merlin, how long have you two been together for?"

"Not at all," Merlin murmured.

"Oh!" Arthur cried. "Well then, you really should say something. Before I put you in the stocks _again_ for not focusing on your work."

"Right, then," Merlin replied, barely audible.

"This is why you're the servant and not the prince, Merlin," Arthur explained. "Stop being such a _girl_! Sweep her off her feet, make her look at you like you're…something."

"Oh right, now I know _exactly_ what I'm supposed to do," Merlin replied sarcastically. "Just walk up to her, sweep her up into my arms, and profess my undying love. Yeah, it's _really_ simple, dunno why I didn't think of it before."

"Honestly, you are completely clueless. Do it slowly, but not too slowly. Leave her thinking about you. And…don't act like an idiot," Arthur suggested. "So what do you say, Merlin? Do you think you can pull this off?"

"Maybe," Merlin said.

"Well, I hope you can. Who knows, maybe she'll actually like you," Arthur pondered.

Merlin's mind soared joyously around the images that Arthur's suggestion gave him. "Yeah, maybe," he murmured hopefully.

"All right Merlin, that's enough talk for now. Back to work—and _focus_ this time," Arthur commanded.

"Yes, Sire," Merlin responded.

* * *

"We need someone to bake the king's bread!" one of the kitchen maids shouted. "NOW!"

"Um…I'll do it," Arien said quietly, approaching the worker who had yelled for help.

"Anyone _else_?" the woman wondered.

Everyone else continued about their tasks, apparently oblivious to the need for someone to make bread. "Anyone, PLEASE!"

"I think I know how to do it now," Arien stated, her voice a bit louder than normal.

"I know you mean well, Arien, but we can't allow you to repeat what happened last time," the woman told her.

"Oh. Well then, I suppose I'll—"

"Arien!" a deep male voice called.

The kitchen workers quickly made a path for Prince Arthur, who was striding purposefully through the crowded room.

"Yes, my liege?" Arien's voice was obnoxiously high with fear.

"Come with me. I have a task for you," he ordered.

Every woman in the room eyed Arien enviously as she left the kitchens with the prince. However, Arien would have given anything to go back to her normal position, being virtually ignored by everyone. _What does he want _me_ for? It's been a month since the bread incident; if His Highness wanted to express his displeasure for that particular event, he would have done it_, Arien pondered as she scurried to keep up with Arthur's long steps.

She wanted to ask why he'd chosen _her_ for whatever chore he had in mind, but knew that doing so was out of the question. "You look like you're about to be sent to the block," Arthur remarked, glancing back at Arien.

"How am I to know that's not the case?" she retorted. As soon as the words left her mouth, she gasped, shocked at how rude she'd been to her future king.

She might have imagined it, but Arien thought she saw a grin flash across the prince's face momentarily. "After hearing of how you managed to make _bread_ explode on your first day, I'm not eager to get rid of you," he explained.

After turning around, Arthur muttered to himself, "And I'd lose a manservant, no doubt about it."

* * *

Merlin waited anxiously in Arthur's chambers. His master had ordered him to stay where he was until he returned. The unusual break in work made Merlin nervous of what was going to happen next. He wondered if Arthur was going to force him to tell Arien how he felt.

_I'd rather be mucking out the stables alone_, he decided.

"Merlin, have you moved?" Arthur's voice called.

"Not a bit," he answered.

"Good. I have a special task for you, but since you're an _idiot_, I thought you might require a bit of assistance. So I took the liberty of bringing you a bit of help," Arthur announced.

"Um…thank you, my lord?" Merlin replied uncertainly.

"You should," Arthur muttered deviously before turning around and calling, "Arien!"

Arien hurried into Arthur's chambers, looking positively petrified. She relaxed considerably upon seeing Merlin, though she still appeared nervous about her assignment.

"I have called the two of you here to do something of the highest importance: clean my chambers," Arthur announced. "Try not to disturb me in the process."

"Yes, my lord," Arien replied meekly, curtsying.

Merlin merely nodded his acknowledgement, knowing that this was not an accident. His belief was confirmed when Arthur walked by him and hissed out of the corner of his mouth, "You owe me, Merlin."

_I always do_, Merlin thought caustically.

When Arthur left the room, Arien released a deep breath. "Well, I think I'll live," she remarked, smiling shakily.

"Wait—you thought Arthur was going to—"

"I didn't know what he was going to do. He just strode into the kitchens and told me to follow him," Arien confessed. "It made all the women rather jealous."

"Arthur wouldn't do anything to hurt an innocent person," Merlin promised her. "You can breathe now."

"I suppose I could manage that," Arien said, her smile growing more genuine.

"I hear quite a bit of talking in there!" Arthur called from some other part of his chambers.

"Sorry!" Arien and Merlin chorused.

"Is there a broom somewhere around here?" Arien asked Merlin.

"Yeah, just over there," he replied, gesturing to a corner.

"Thanks," she replied, taking it up and beginning to sweep the floor.

Merlin went about the room, organizing Arthur's various possessions. "So is this an improvement over what you normally do?" he wondered.

"Well, since you aren't intent on reminding me about how I exploded bread a month ago, I think this is a bit more enjoyable. Besides, I have you to talk to," Arien answered.

"Glad I could make your day a bit more enjoyable, then," he replied.

"You always do, Merlin," she informed him lightly. "And I don't talk to you as much as I'd like to. So I was thinking…perhaps we could talk one day? After we're both done here."

Merlin's heart dropped in disappointment when he heard how nonchalant her tone was—she couldn't possibly fancy him. Still, he wasn't going to miss out on any chance he had, no matter how slim. "Sure, that'd be nice," he agreed.

"Excellent. I'll meet you in the courtyards then?" she suggested.

"Yeah, sounds good," he replied.

_It's just friendly,_ Arien told herself. _I've done this plenty of times before and nothing is going to happened between us. It's just two friends talking._

_The fact that I have to convince myself of this isn't good_, she realized a few moments later.

* * *

Merlin stood in the courtyard, anxiously tapping his foot. He had been waiting for Arien for quite a while now. She wouldn't make him wait on purpose—it was not like her at all. _But I've been wrong before_, Merlin reminded himself.

"Merlin, I'm sorry!" Arien called as she sprinted towards him. "The _entire_ kitchen staff wanted to know why Prince Arthur called me away."

"Well that's understandable. What did they all think happened?" Merlin inquired.

"For the most part, their theories either involved some sort of discussion about bread or Prince Arthur's inexplicable attraction to me. I made a strong point of telling them that I barely saw His Highness while I was doing the appointed task of cleaning his room," Arien elucidated.

"Women," muttered Merlin.

Arien looked at him rather sharply, trying to suppress a laugh. "Sorry," he said, quickly. "I didn't mean you."

"So I'm not a woman?" she wondered, feigning hurt.

"No, that's not what I meant! You're _definitely_ a woman!" Merlin exclaimed frantically.

Arien giggled, gently elbowing Merlin in the ribs. "I'll take that as a compliment," she said sweetly, beginning to walk through the courtyards.

Merlin followed beside her. "It _was_ a compliment, Arien. You're…beautiful," he murmured.

Arien stopped and looked at Merlin in shock. She'd never heard him speak so plainly before—he'd shocked her into silence. "Thank you, Merlin," she whispered, gently touching his arm.

"Mmhmm…um, you're welcome," he mumbled, awed that he had even been able to tell Arien something so intimate without sounding like an idiot.

"That was very possibly the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Arien confessed. Keeping her relationship with Merlin platonic was one of the furthest things from her mind at the moment.

"You're welcome," he managed to choke out.

_Maybe I was wrong_, he wondered.

* * *

Arien had not stopped thinking about Merlin for one second after their walk earlier that evening. He seemed to be a bit more comfortable around her, which was rather refreshing. _Just because he told me that I'm beautiful doesn't mean that I'm obliged to like him in the same way_, she reminded herself.

But…she didn't feel forced. She just wanted to be able to allow things to progress as normal with Merlin—he at least deserved a _thought_.

_I can't even give him that_, she realized sadly. _I promised myself I wouldn't let things get complicated. The entire reason I left home was to uncomplicated my relationships with the other gender—I will not run again for the same reason._


	5. Left Standing

**A/N: I promised myself I wouldn't post a new chapter until I was done with my psych paper and my book report (even though this thing's already finished). I bet you can all guess how that turned out…**

**Anyways, a lot of important stuff falls into place in this chapter—we find out what Arien's deal is and there's **_**a lot**_** of raw emotion! Hope you love it!**

**Oh, and two random notes—S3 FINALLY premiered in the U.S. on Friday and I'm already waiting with bated breath for the next episode! And secondly, I named this fic after a song by Trading Yesterday (just a random fact).**

**As usual, I do not own **_**Merlin**_**. If I did, Merlin would be my boyfriend(no joke). But no, the show and all that jazz belong to BBC/NBC/SyFy/Arthurian legend writers.**

* * *

"Arien, are you almost ready?" Aurelia called up the stairs.

"Yes, just fixing my hair!" Arien shouted back down.

"You've been doing that for quite a while now." Aurelia's voice gradually grew closer as Arien listened to the sound of her friend's light footsteps on the stairs. "Can I come in and help you?"

"Please do," Arien said gratefully. "It is absolutely _refusing_ to cooperate! Though I suppose it knows that I really shouldn't be so concerned with my appearance right now."

"Ah, that's _right_," Aurelia recalled. "You will be in the same room as Merlin _all night long_."

"Please don't remind me. I'm nervous enough as it is," Arien groaned.

"Arien, I can only imagine how complicated this is for you, but don't hold yourself back because of Brant. He doesn't seem to know that you're here, so there might be a chance for you and Merlin," Aurelia told her, twisting Arien's dark golden curls into a knot on the back of her head.

"You don't know what Brant is like. If he found out…Merlin would be worse off than me. I never wanted to put him in that position, even before I felt this way," Arien explained sadly.

"Don't worry about it now. Just enjoy yourself tonight. Please," Aurelia asked.

"Okay," Arien agreed, allowing herself a small smile.

Aurelia put a few more pins in Arien's hair, then pulled a small section out, allowing it to hang close to Arien's face. "There. Now he can romantically brush your golden hair away from your emerald eyes," said Aurelia proudly.

Arien laughed. "Thank you, Aurelia. Out of everyone in Camelot, I'm glad you're the one who offered to adopt me," she told Aurelia. "And if you didn't already know, you've done a beautiful job with my hair."

* * *

"I think I'm ready, Sire," Merlin remarked. He was dressed in the official uniform of a servant of Camelot's royal family, which seemed ridiculously ornate.

"You're forgetting one thing, Merlin," Arthur reminded him.

Merlin carefully examined his master, then looked at himself. "_No_," he pleaded, looking desperately at Arthur. "You know that Arien's going to be there!"

"Merlin, you manage to make yourself look like an idiot in front of her every day. I don't think this will make a difference," Arthur stated. "Now put on the hat."

"Arthur, if there is _any way_—"

"The stocks," Arthur informed him, a masochistic smile curving his lips.

Shaking his head, Merlin picked up the hat and put it on his head. It was covered in a ridiculous amount of plumes that were all lumped towards the right side of the hat, making it appear as if a large and awkwardly feathered bird had decided to rest on Merlin's head.

"Perfect," Arthur said, grinning. "You'll sweep her off her feet. Speaking of which, you should do it soon. She's been here for well over two months."

"I wish it was that easy," Merlin mumbled.

"Well, Merlin, if you don't say something tonight, I might have to step in," Arthur informed his servant. "You're spending a _lot_ of energy on Arien."

"Yes, Sire," Merlin agreed.

"Now get down there and woo her," Arthur ordered, grinning.

* * *

Camelot was crowded with well-dressed lords and ladies. Arien kept close to the walls and avoided the crowds as much as possible. This was the first large feast that had been held since she'd arrived at Camelot—a foreign king had arrived to negotiate with Uther, and his presence was being celebrated by this elaborate dinner. Since Arien was still being ridiculed for exploding bread, she had been assigned to serve the food.

"Arien?" a voice behind her called softly.

"Hi," Arien murmured, turning around to see Merlin.

As soon as she noticed his incredibly ornate hat, she had to cover her mouth with both of her hands to somewhat suppress her laughter. "I know," he muttered unhappily.

"Sorry. It's not you, just…Merlin, you have a way of making things interesting," Arien told him, hugging him quickly.

"Thanks," he replied.

"You're welcome," she said, blushing.

"Well, I guess I should go," Merlin suggested after a moment.

"Very well. I'll see you later," she promised, hugging him again.

"I'll walk you home. Bye," he vowed, looking passionately into Arien's eyes. He wanted to kiss her, but it would be completely unacceptable for two servants to display their feelings so publicly.

"Goodbye," she whispered, taking one last long look into his blue eyes. She wished this night was for them, not for two kings.

She watched the feathers on Merlin's hat stick up above the crowd as he walked over to Prince Arthur. "So sweet," she whispered before finding her place along the wall.

"Nervous?" a young woman beside her asked. She was apparently a servant as well—she was dressed simply and her dark hair was pulled away from her face.

"Just a bit. This is my first time serving at a feast and I'm a little worried about making a mistake," Arien revealed.

"Oh, don't worry. It's not too difficult," the woman reassured her, smiling tenderly.

"Well, I'm the one who managed to explode King Uther's bread. I have complete confidence in my ability to make something go wrong," Arien explained, her nerves beginning to show in her voice.

"Arien?" the woman asked.

Arien nodded. "Yes," she stated.

"Well, pleasure to meet you. My name's Guinevere, but you can call me Gwen," she said.

"Nice to meet you too," Arien replied. "How long have you been working here in Camelot, Gwen?"

"As long as I can remember. I've been Lady Morgana's maid since she arrived here in Camelot, so I'm quite experienced at this," Gwen explained.

"Then I'll just watch you, if you don't mind," Arien decided.

"Oh, that's perfectly fine. I just hope _I_ don't do something completely foolish," Gwen confessed.

"Well, I appreciate your kindness, Gwen. It's nice to meet someone who's capable of holding a conversation with me without teasing me for exploding bread," Arien said, laughing rather nervously.

"Oh, it's not a problem. Glad I could be of some help," she replied.

* * *

On the other side of the room, Merlin was looking around anxiously, awaiting Arthur's arrival. He'd never been nervous about serving Arthur in public before, but this time, Arien would be there to distract him, which could cause several problems. Over the past two months, he'd ended up in trouble quite a few times, either because he'd been talking to Arien or thinking about her so much that it distracted him from his work.

Of course, it was rather difficult not to think about her—she was the only girl who had ever taken an active interest in him. When they'd spoken earlier, he had wanted to tell her that she looked exceptionally lovely tonight, but the words had gotten lost as soon as she'd laughed at his hat. And she was the only one who could get away with doing it because her laugh was so appealing.

He glanced across the room at Arien, who was scanning the room anxiously. He wished that he could somehow soothe her nerves, but he knew no spell that could do such a thing.

Her eyes darted in his direction momentarily and he flashed her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. _You'll be fine_, he mouthed to her.

In response, she simply smiled and lowered her head.

_"…if you don't say something tonight, I might have to step in." _ Arthur's voice echoed in Merlin's mind, reminding him of what he needed to do later tonight.

_Not exactly what I need to think about right now_, he realized.

_But it _is_ a distraction until Arthur arrives_.

"Presenting His Majesty…"

_Too late_, Merlin realized. _He's on his way_.

* * *

"Heaven save me," Arien whispered as the royalty began to filter into the room.

_Relax. The food isn't ready yet; you still have time_, she reminded herself soothingly. _At least I have someone to watch._

Arien allowed her mind to wander for a short while as the rest of the royals entered the dining hall. She had been assigned to serve the foreign king's daughter, which meant that she was, in a way, representing all of Camelot to these people. _I suppose that's why they wanted to keep me out of the kitchens_, she realized, suppressing a grin.

The line of servants along the wall began to move. Arien followed them into the kitchens, listening for the name of an unfamiliar princess. _It starts with a K_, she recalled.

"Princess Kalliana's food is ready! Arien, where are you?" someone called out.

"Here!" Arien cried, rather relieved to hear her name.

"There you are. Relax a bit," the woman told Arien.

"I'll try," she promised, taking a deep breath.

As she left the kitchens, something brushed Arien's shoulder. She turned around and saw Merlin, holding Prince Arthur's tray of food. "I know you've heard this at least twice, but you'll do wonderfully," Merlin said to Arien.

"Thanks," she whispered before they parted.

Something about Merlin had relaxed Arien. Her fear of dropping food on Princess Kalliana or doing something equally stupid diminished greatly. As she re-entered the dining hall, she was nearly fearless.

* * *

Arien dragged herself to the kitchens, looking for Aurelia. It was well past midnight, but she'd promised to check in with Aurelia once she was done serving. "Has anyone seen Aurelia?" she called weakly.

"Here," her friend shouted pathetically from across the room.

They trudged to meet one another, equally exhausted. "How was it?" Aurelia inquired.

"Everything went smoothly. I'll explain it to you in detail tomorrow. Right now, I have to meet Merlin; he's walking me home," Arien explained.

"Excellent. I'll shamelessly tease you about that boy tomorrow, then," Aurelia told Arien tiredly. "See you later."

"Yeah," Arien agreed as she and Aurelia both forced their feet to move again.

Somehow, she made it to the courtyards. She glanced around for Merlin, but saw no sign of him. She vaguely remembered that he would probably be changing out of his gaudy feathered hat. _Well, that gives me a bit of time to rest my eyes_, she realized with suppressed joy, sitting down on the cobblestones.

* * *

"Arien?"

Merlin was crouched beside her, his hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, I hope you haven't been waiting long," she mumbled, blinking a few times to wake herself up a bit.

"No, I just found you a minute ago," Merlin explained, extending his hand for Arien.

"How can you be so awake?" Arien asked as she took his hand and stood up.

"I'm used to this. For me, it's just another ordinary day as Arthur's manservant," he clarified.

"I wish I could take this as easily as you do," Arien said as they began to walk.

"It's taken lots of practice," Merlin revealed, realizing that he was still holding Arien's hand. He let go rather quickly; she didn't.

"You didn't have to do that; I don't mind," she told him, sounding a bit more awake now.

Silently, Merlin wrapped his fingers around Arien's, his grip more protective than it had been before. "I'm afraid I'm not going to be very good company tonight…obviously," Arien said.

"That's fine. Just seeing you is…nice," he replied.

They walked in silence for most of the way home—Arien was exhausted and Merlin was pondering how to tell her his feelings. As they turned down the final road, Merlin finally murmured, "Let's talk. I have…something to tell you."

Arien stopped beside him and looked expectantly into his eyes. "Well, I…forgot to tell you that you look lovely tonight," he revealed. "Exceptionally so."

"Oh. Well…thank you, Merlin," she replied, rather taken aback.

Merlin took a deep breath before continuing, "And…there's something else, Arien."

He moved a bit closer to her and whispered, "I love you."

Arien felt her heart jerk as Merlin closed his eyes and began to turn his head slightly. _SAY SOMETHING! _ her mind screamed.

"Merlin, we can't."

The words nearly choked Arien. She wished that she had come up with something a bit gentler, but she'd done what was necessary, even if it was the opposite of what she wanted.

He looked at her, concern heavy in his eyes. "I'm an idiot," he muttered, turning away from her.

"No you're not. Just…give me a minute to explain things," Arien asked.

Merlin nodded.

"Well, I suppose you should know that I _do_ love you and want to kiss you," she began. "But I'm betrothed."

"What?" Merlin nearly shouted, anger piercing his tone.

"I know," Arien mumbled, fiddling with something in her pocket. "I never wanted it to happen, but…I am. And this is my proof."

She pulled a ring from the folds of her gown—a beautiful piece of workmanship with a sizeable gem in the center. "Merlin, I've lied to you," she confessed. "I didn't leave my family because times were difficult. I left because I was engaged to Lord Brant and found out his true nature. The things I told you—about what he does to women—that was the truth. I heard it from a woman who escaped, a trustworthy friend of my family. Unfortunately, no one else seemed to believe me, so I left."

"And put your _sister_ in danger?" Merlin wondered, disgusted with Arien.

Arien sighed deeply. "Aurelia isn't my sister. I met her when I arrived here. She agreed to take me in until I found somewhere else to go, if that was the case," she explained.

"I've just been completely honest with you and you tell me that you've _lied_ for the entire time I've known you?" Merlin inquired angrily.

"Everything else is true, I swear," she vowed.

"This still doesn't explain why you…"

"Brant is a very jealous man and he hasn't given up on me yet. If he ever found out that I loved someone else—which he could easily do; he's shockingly sneaky—you would be worse off than me," she told him.

"Well you won't have to worry about that anymore," Merlin snapped, turning to walk in the opposite direction.

Arien knew better than to call after him. If he wanted to speak to her again, he would, but that didn't seem likely at the moment. She couldn't even think of anything—exhaustion and sorrow had ruined her mental activity.

Feeling even heavier than she had earlier, Arien forced herself to enter the house as quietly as possible. Once she'd changed into her shift, she fell into bed but couldn't sleep. Instead, she laid there and cried until she fell asleep out of pure exhaustion.


	6. Nonexistent

**A/N: This chapter is relatively short and there are two more "interludes" after it, so I'll publish this now and the interludes after I watch S3E2 of **_**Merlin**_**. Again, thank you so much for reading—I deeply appreciate it. And for anyone who cares, I made a random observation today…when I was writing this fanfic (back in the end of September/beginning of October 2010), I saw my grades drop a little bit. Now that I'm publishing it, they're actually getting better. Weird how that works…**

**Yep, stuff to ponder in your spare time. :D Anyhow, enjoy! I don't own **_**Merlin**_**; it belongs to NBC/SyFy/BBC/Arthurian legend writers.**

* * *

"So Merlin, how were things last night?" Arthur asked his manservant as Merlin carried his breakfast into his chambers.

"Exhausting," Merlin replied dully. He hadn't wanted to come here today—everything made him think of Arien somehow.

"I mean with _Arien_, you idiot!" the prince exclaimed exasperatedly.

Merlin shook his head and hid his face. This was the _last_ thing he wanted to discuss at the moment.

"That bad?" Arthur wondered.

"Worse," muttered Merlin bitterly.

"Forget about her, then. Live your life. Let her know what she missed," Arthur told him.

_I can't_, Merlin thought. To Arthur, he said, "Of course, Sire."

* * *

"Arien, wake up."

Aurelia's voice drifted into Arien's head. "What happened last night?" Aurelia questioned.

Arien moaned unhappily and rolled over, curling into a fetal position. "Don't want to talk," she mumbled. "It was the worst night I've ever had."

"Come on. You'll feel at least a _bit_ better if you tell me," Aurelia urged, touching Arien's arm.

Slowly, Arien sat up and began to tell her friend what had happened last night. Aurelia listened patiently throughout the entire story, sorrow filling her eyes. "There's still hope, Arien. Merlin was upset when he said that. And Brant could give up on you, annul the betrothal, or die," Aurelia suggested once Arien had finished speaking.

"He sounded quite sincere," Arien said dejectedly. "I don't think I can stay here much longer if he really doesn't forgive me. I _know_ I shouldn't have lied, but…I didn't see another way. So if I leave soon, don't take it personally."

"I won't. But I'll miss you, Arien, if you go," Aurelia said.

"Yes, I'll miss you too. I promise I'll come back someday," Arien told her. "For now, I'll stay in Camelot. If things aren't better in two weeks, I'm leaving."

* * *

Merlin was walking through the corridors when he caught a glimpse of her.

She looked half dead. Her hair was falling out of its updo and it looked as if she had dressed in an extreme rush. She walked as if there was something heavy sitting on her shoulders and her eyes were loaded with sorrow.

The second she glimpsed Merlin, Arien turned away, hiding the tears that were running down her face. Merlin pretended to ignore her and forced himself to feel nothing as she passed him.

_She lied_.

_And I never have? Who am I to accuse anyone of lying? I'm possibly the biggest liar in all of Camelot!_

_ That's different. She could've trusted me._

_ And how was she supposed to know that?_

Merlin shook his head, not wanting to ponder what he'd said last night. _Focus on work_, he reminded himself.

That particular task proved to be exceptionally impossible that day. By the end of the day, Merlin had cleaned Arthur's stables once, polished his armor thrice, and been in the stocks five times. "I think you need to talk with Arien," Arthur suggested that evening as Merlin left the castle, covered in rotten food and smelling like horse dung.

"Yes, Sire," he said wearily, though he was not intent on obeying in the near future.

When he arrived home, Gaius looked at him for a long time. "Long day?" he asked.

"I wish that was it," Merlin replied bitterly.

"Do you want to talk?" Gaius wondered, setting aside the potion he'd been fiddling with.

"Not exactly," Merlin confessed, beginning to pull several types of rotten fruit from his hair.

"It's Arien, isn't it?" Gaius inquired, looking knowingly at Merlin.

"Yeah," he revealed before reluctantly explaining the events of the previous night to Gaius.

"Merlin, I think you're being a little too hard on her. You of all people should understand the need to keep something secret in order to protect yourself," Gaius told him at the end.

"Magic is different, Gaius. As soon as the wrong person finds out about me, I'm dead," Merlin snapped.

"And it is different for Arien?"

"She could've protected herself if she told people about him. Someone might've annulled the marriage or put him to death!" Merlin exclaimed.

"And if the wrong person found out while she was trying to protect herself?" Gaius inquired.

Merlin was silent, knowing that Gaius had made his point. "Then maybe I shouldn't have gotten close to her," he muttered as he ran to his chamber.

Gaius shook his head as Merlin left. The boy had grown increasingly wiser in the ways of magic since his arrival in Camelot, but Merlin knew absolutely nothing about a woman's heart.

* * *

It was still light when Arien told Aurelia that she was going to bed. "I'm just tired," Arien had protested before closing the door to her small room.

This was what drove Aurelia to Gaius's house. She needed to talk with someone about Arien and Merlin—it was too hard to see her friend like this. _Please, let this work somehow_, she prayed as she knocked on Gaius's door.

The old healer answered the door quite quickly. "What can I help you with tonight?" he wondered.

"If you happen to know of a cure for a broken heart, my friend is desperately in need," Aurelia stated.

"Believe me, if such a cure existed, I would have administered it by now," he replied.

"You are Merlin's guardian, correct?" Aurelia inquired, hoping that she'd chosen the correct door.

"Yes, I am," he answered her.

"I am Arien's friend, Aurelia, and I was wondering if…there is any way I can help her move on," she pleaded.

"I don't think that is what Arien needs—nor Merlin, for that matter," Gaius explained, motioning for Aurelia to come inside. "He still cares for her, but it will take him some time to get past what she told him."

"I don't mean to corner you into anything, but Arien told me that she will leave Camelot in two weeks if the situation doesn't improve. I can't let her leave me this empty—it's as if someone stole all the life from her and replaced it with lead!" Aurelia exclaimed, quickly adding, "No offense to Merlin, of course."

"This hasn't been any great joy for him either," Gaius stated. "He ended up in the stocks _five times_ today. I believe that's a record."

"Where is he now?" Aurelia asked.

"Out walking. I don't expect him back any time soon—he needs to think," Gaius said.

"Arien's already in bed. That was what made me come here. If she's leaving in two weeks, I don't want her carrying around this unfinished relationship. They need to talk and at least decide what they're going to do," Aurelia clarified.

"I agree, but there is nothing we can make them do," he stated.

"I know," Aurelia agreed heavily. "Thank you, Gaius. I know that Merlin is in good hands."

"I appreciate the compliment, Aurelia and I am glad that you came and talked to me about this. Merlin is…like a son to me, and it is not easy seeing him so burdened," Gaius told her.

Aurelia walked home as quickly as possible for two reasons: to avoid meeting Merlin and to be there for Arien if she needed anything. She hoped that things would fall into place between those two of them, even if Arien still left. _They're too in love with one another to just leave it now_, she realized.


	7. Arien and Merlin

**A/N: Okay, here's the "interludes," which are both basically drabbles. The first one is Arien's thoughts and the second one is Merlin's. Please bask in the raw emotion. : ) As usual, I don't own **_**Merlin**_**; that belongs to BBC/NBC/SyFy/Arthurian legend writers.**

* * *

Seeing him was torture, even though she no longer made an effort to do so. It seemed like she saw him more than ever now, but that was probably just due to the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about him. There hadn't been a speck of sympathy in his clear blue eyes that night—only anger.

Every time they passed one another in the halls, she turned away from him. She feared what she might see in his eyes if she looked there again. Besides, he did not to see what he'd done to her. She managed to pull herself together while at work and do what was expected of her, but the moment she left the castle, she crumbled. Every night, she would lie on her bed for hours, torturing herself with memories of Merlin.

She had always heard that losing your first love was the hardest, but she hadn't expected it to hurt this much. Of course, she'd planned on actually having some sort of romantic relationship with the first man she loved. At least _then_ she would have pleasant memories of love, not just tension and hopes between two people.

One day, it would be better. She wouldn't feel knives through her heart every time she heard his name; tears wouldn't run down her face whenever she saw him. She _did_ know that those days were far in the future, possibly so far that she wouldn't even be experiencing them in Camelot.

Tomorrow, she would start to think about where to go when she left Camelot, knowing that if she did not start thinking about it now, she would be stuck in Camelot with her broken emotions forever.

_I don't want to leave_, she thought._ What if he changes his mind after I leave?_

_ That will be his loss._

_ More mine than his._

* * *

He was starting to wonder if he'd made a mistake by yelling at her. She had lied to him, but he was doing the same thing to her—and everyone else. He'd been so hypocritical, hurting her like that.

She still worked every day; for that, he'd begun to respect her greatly. More than once, he had looked her way in the corridors, hoping that she'd look at him for only a second. Every time, she turned away from him, her head down and her eyes pointing in the opposite direction. If she had gotten into any trouble for not focusing on her chores, he hadn't heard of it. If he didn't know her better, he would have believed that she was fine.

Her lack of eye contact with him spoke otherwise.

Life was dry and dull without her. He had no one to talk to halfway through the day when he felt exhausted and no one to walk with once the working day was over. He went to sleep with an empty feeling and woke up with the same huge hole in his chest.

That night had changed him. He hadn't smiled genuinely since they'd last spoken. Whenever he saw her, he recalled how her hand had felt in his that night—soft, warm, and slightly smaller than his own. He wanted to feel that with her again, this time without ruining it by being a thick-skulled idiot.

Three days was too long. He needed to talk with her, even if she'd changed her mind about him. He knew that they couldn't be together right away, but perhaps they could negotiate. If this was life without her, he would keep her around for as long as was possible, even if things didn't end up as he imagined.


	8. Revival

**A/N: Here is something to help you (and me) procrastinate any homework that has been left till the last minute. ;) This is another short chapter, but the next one is about 16 pages on Microsoft Word, so I'm splitting it into two parts, which will both be published this week. Unless you really want to sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting (let me know if you do). **

**I don't think I say this enough, but I appreciate any sort of feedback I get. :D It turns me into a glowing ball of light.**

**As usual, I do not own **_**Merlin**_**; NBC/BBC/SyFy/Arthurian legend writers do.**

**Oh—and the song in this chapter is not mine either; it's "Awake" by Secondhand Serenade, which is owned by Secondhand Serenade and his (it's a person, not a band) record label.**

* * *

Merlin took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door to Aurelia's—and Arien's—house. "Wait a minute!" a voice called.

Several moments later, Aurelia opened the door. "Thank heavens," she murmured. "I'm so glad you're here."

"I feel awful about how cold I was to her," Merlin confessed.

Aurelia bit her lip. There were a few things she wanted to say to Merlin, but she wasn't about to drive him away now that he'd come to apologize to Arien. "She's in her room. I think that she's done crying for the time being," Aurelia told him, gesturing to a door down the hall.

"Thanks," he replied, walking quickly down the short hall.

As he walked, he heard a beautiful song drift towards him.

"_With every appearance by you_

_Blinding my eyes, I can hardly remember_

_The last time I felt like I do…_

_You're an angel disguised."_

He knocked firmly on the door and the song stopped. "Arien," he murmured.

She blinked a few times before responding, "Hello Merlin."

"Do you want to walk?" he asked.

"Sure," she agreed, following him down the hall and out of her house.

As soon as they closed the door, Merlin embraced Arien passionately. "I'm sorry, Arien, I was…an idiot," he whispered to her.

"Merlin, you're never an idiot," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I forgive you. I understand why you got so upset—it must hurt to feel betrayed like that—but it wasn't all your fault. I could have said something earlier, but I was scared."

"No, you don't have to apologize," he told her, taking half a step away from her.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to see you," she revealed. "I was planning on leaving Camelot, which was originally supposed to happen in two weeks, but I might've left sooner."

"Then it's good I came when I did," he said, taking her hand. "Besides, I didn't know you could sing like that."

"Well, thank you," she murmured, smiling. "It's…been a dream of mine to be a bard ever since I was little. I wanted to see the world. In fact, that was what I was going to do after I got Brant off of my trail."

"What changed that?" Merlin wondered, though he was relatively certain that he knew the answer.

"I ended up liking it a lot here," she confessed. "I'm not sure that's what I want, at least not now. Speaking of which…what do you want to do about…us?"

"I think you already know," he replied. "Even if we have to wait for a while."

Arien smiled at him before adding, "I'm glad that's the case, even though it'll be difficult. We can't kiss or even…be open about our feelings for a while, unless Brant annuls the engagement."

"I know. And…I'll wait," he promised.

"Thanks," she murmured, hugging him.

"I have to go now, Arien, but I'll see you tomorrow," he vowed to her.

"Goodnight, Merlin. I can't say how ecstatic I am that everything between us is all right," she told him before she went back inside.

* * *

Merlin was unusually chipper the next day. He whistled as he did his chores, leaving everything in his path spotless. By noon, a very confused Prince Arthur asked his manservant, "Merlin, what did you _do_ last night? Because I think you need to do it every day."

"Just resolved something, Sire," Merlin replied lightly, continuing to work as if it was his favorite thing to do.

"Ah. Arien, I presume. She decided that she _does_ love you after all," Arthur said, quite sure of himself.

"Not exactly. We just…are leaving things like this for now," he explained.

"I'm not convinced, Merlin," Arthur teased him. "What _really_ happened? Does she harbor an unending love for you? Does her heart _race_ when she sees you covered in rotten tomato?"

Merlin rolled his eyes. "If you must know, she _does_ happen to fancy me, but we're not…_together_," he clarified.

"Well then, how does the unending joy work?" Arthur inquired.

"I know what I missed without her, so everything seems so much…better now," Merlin explained.

"I'm done trying to understand what went on between you and Arien. Just…keep working like this," Arthur ordered.

"Not a problem, Sire," Merlin responded cheerfully.

* * *

"Arien, were you just _dancing_?" Aurelia wondered as she passed her friend in the corridors of Camelot.

"Was I?" Arien asked innocently.

"As a matter of fact, I believe you were. It truly is amazing what love can do—you go from exploding bread to dancing around with full hands," Aurelia pondered.

"It's the magic of Merlin's love," Arien explained, smiling.

"Be glad that the king didn't hear you say that," Aurelia stated with a straight face.

Simultaneously, the young woman began giggling. King Uther was so paranoid about sorcery that he would probably punish Merlin if he'd heard the joke Arien had just made. "Don't say anything else, just in case someone happens to be listening," Arien muttered.

"All right. I suppose I should get back to work and leave you to your footwork," Aurelia decided. "See you at home!"

Arien continued down the hall, wondering if it really _did_ look like she was dancing. _No, it's more like skipping_, she decided.

She saw Merlin walking towards her and had to fight not to run towards him. "You're dancing," he remarked, grinning at her.

"I am _not_ dancing!" she replied indignantly, though the look in her eyes was anything but serious. "I'm _skipping_."

"Oh, well forgive me for that mistake," Merlin said, rolling his eyes with a smile.

"Am I _really_ dancing?" she wondered, her voice hushed.

"Sort of," he replied.

Arien looked around rather cautiously. "I suppose I should calm down a bit," she decided.

Merlin nodded his agreement. "Arthur's already asked me why I'm so lively," he confessed. "I didn't explain everything, but he knows that we're not together."

"That's fine. So far, no one's noticed me other than Aurelia," Arien told him. "But it's so difficult!"

"I know," Merlin muttered. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," she murmured, embracing him quickly before they continued their separate ways.


	9. The Black Art

**A/N: Okay, so I'm posting this before I draw myself away from this world and into the Realm of Studying For An AP Calculus Midterm (fun stuff…not). As usual, thanks for reading/reviewing; your feedback is always highly appreciated. The other half of this chapter will be posted on Friday cuz it's so dang long. Enjoy! As usual, I don't own Merlin; it's the property of BBC/NBC/SyFy/Arthurian legend dudes and dudesses.**

**Oh, and in Merlin's letter, the underlined words are supposed to be crossed out. Just a heads up.  
**

* * *

Arien scurried up the steps to Gaius's chambers. It was early, but she wanted to surprise Merlin this morning. _I hope I don't wake him_, she thought as she opened the door.

A broom was moving violently across the floor by itself, sweeping the dirt from the floor into a large but tidy pile. Arien glanced around for anything that could possibly be moving the broom. Merlin was standing across the room, organizing several massive books; no one else was present. She checked the windows, looking for an open one that might let in a breeze. When she felt no wind, Arien shook her head a bit and blinked her eyes.

The broom was still moving. There was no explanation for this.

She walked as quietly as she could towards it and grabbed the handle to see if she could stop the thing. It protested against her grip, as if it _wanted_ to sweep. "What in the world…?" she muttered, wondering how this could be happening.

Merlin glanced over his shoulder and saw that Arien was standing there. "Oh, Arien!" he exclaimed, flustered. The broom clattered to the floor. "I was just…um, cleaning?" he offered.

"Can you explain why the broom seems to have a mind of its own?" she inquired, her tone too innocent.

Merlin searched his head for some reason—other than magic—the broom would be sweeping the floor without any human assistance. "It's…a very special broom," he began. "Gaius saved it when Uther destroyed all magical objects."

"_Really?_" Arien wondered, her voice leaden with sarcasm. "Odd that someone so close to the king would be allowed to keep a magical object. Must've been a powerful spell to last all these years after the sorcerer _died_."

"Oh, he was very powerful," Merlin lied.

Arien's eyebrows arched angrily as she said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Merlin, but I believe that a powerful sorcerer would spend his time doing better things than placing enchantments on brooms—especially ones that suddenly stop working."

"It just…gets tired," he offered, wishing that he'd been more prepared for an encounter like this.

"So when a powerful sorcerer enchants a _kitchen broom_, he can't even insure that the spell will last forever because the broom might _get tired_?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice relatively nonchalant.

"Mmhmm," he mumbled. There was no escaping this one.

"I deserve an explanation, Merlin," she stated levelly. "I gave _you_ one."

He sighed heavily and racked his mind for any other excuse that he could give for a broom's independent motion. "All right. I'm a warlock, Arien," he confessed. "I've been doing magic since birth, but I've never used it for _anything_ bad, I swear. I—can't tell anyone because, well, you've seen what Uther does to people like me."

"Let me see if I have this story correct, Merlin. You didn't speak to me for three days because I was keeping something from you—in order to protect myself?" Arien inquired, her tone finally revealing her emotions.

"Arien, I don't want this to happen again," Merlin pleaded. "I realized that I had no right to be angry with you because I'm doing the same thing."

"I really don't know what to say, Merlin. I've never seen anyone do _that_ so nonchalantly," she replied. "And this is different. At least I'm not doing anything that is against the law of the king."

"Oh, and hiding from your fiancé is _much_ better!" he snapped. "Because you're too afraid to walk up to someone with authority and explain what Brant's done!"

"At least I told you the truth about who I am!" she cried. "I didn't harbor some great illegal secret from the one I love!"

"I never asked for this," he hissed. "But without it, I'm nothing—nobody. I have nothing worth living for."

Seconds after Merlin spoke, he realized his mistake. "I'm sorry, Arien, I just…" he broke off, not sure of how to undo the damage he'd done.

"Didn't think. That's what you just did," she murmured.

Merlin took a step closer, wanting to do _something_ to fix what he'd said, but she jumped back two paces. "You seem to have enough reasons to exist without me, Merlin, so I suppose I can just go," she said, trying unsuccessfully to fight the tears that were already running down her face.

"Arien, no!" he exclaimed, but she was out the door before he could say anything else.

_Why am I such an idiot around her?_ he wondered, disgusted with how he'd acted.

Magic was a very touchy subject in Camelot. The word alone was almost taboo and every sorcerer that came along was quickly killed or burned. Merlin had never been eager to bring a fate like that upon himself, but right now it seemed a bit less painful than facing what he'd said to Arien. He needed to fix this as quickly as he could.

* * *

Arien stood outside Gaius's door for a few minutes, crying. The fact that Merlin had magic wasn't bothering her as much as she'd expected—the thing that ate at the core of her being was the fact that he'd been so hypocritical. He hadn't talked to her for three days because she was doing the same thing as he was. She didn't know if she could believe any of his promises of love after she'd been treated so coldly by him.

The last thing she wanted to do was go down to the kitchens and work, but it was her duty. At least Merlin would not find her so easily if she was working.

She dragged her feet down the stairs and to the kitchens, unable to get Merlin out of her mind. It was almost sadistic of her to think about him—it hurt, but…somehow, all of her thoughts tied back to him. _Stop. Just…think of working. Pour yourself into it_, she thought as she walked into the kitchens.

That was her mantra for the morning—she worked and did not allow her mind to wander during her tasks—all of her passion was reserved for cooking and cleaning. It was not a joyous existence, but Arien knew that it was better than anything else.

* * *

Merlin had been noticeably distracted all day and it was beginning to irritate Arthur. After Merlin had somehow given Arthur seven crusts of bread for lunch, Arthur said, "Merlin, just…stop."

Merlin continued to idly fiddle with something on Arthur's dressing table. "MERLIN!" Arthur shouted, chucking a piece of bread at him.

"What?" Merlin snapped. "Sire," he added hastily.

"What is wrong with you today? I didn't think it could get _worse_ than a few days ago, but today it's as if someone stole what little brain you have and threw it into the ocean!" Arthur snapped.

"Rough morning," Merlin muttered.

"Arien again?" Arthur asked exasperatedly.

Merlin nodded, turning his face away. "She learned something about me that…made her doubt everything," he confessed. "And now she's upset. Again."

"The two of you need to work this out," Arthur decided. "Go…talk to her, write her a letter, serenade her—I don't care, just fix it _somehow_ and keep it fixed!"

"Thanks, Sire, but I don't know if I can," Merlin replied.

"If this is not fixed by tomorrow, I swear I'll go and talk to her myself," Arthur vowed.

"Yes, Sire," Merlin obeyed, going off to find a quill and paper.

He wanted to disobey Arthur because he _knew_ that Arien wouldn't fall back into his arms so quickly. He'd just gone through the same thing a few days ago. _That's the question—how was I feeling yesterday?_

_Betrayed._

_ Empty._

_ Broken._

_ Utterly alone._

_ Bitter._

That was enough for Merlin to formulate a semi-decent letter.

* * *

"A young man gave this to me while you were away, Arien," one of Arien's fellow kitchen workers told her as she handed Arien a folded piece of parchment.

Arien opened it and glanced quickly at it. When she saw Merlin's name at the bottom, she shoved it back into the kitchen maid's hands as if it were aflame. "Take it. Burn it, throw it away, whatever. I don't care what you do with it, just…make sure it stays away from me," she said bitterly, fighting back tears.

"He looked positively lovesick, Arien. If you don't write _something_ back, the boy might kill himself!" the maid exclaimed.

"I doubt he'd have the nerve," Arien muttered. Immediately after saying that, she felt her heart jerk. No matter what, she didn't want Merlin dead.

"Just read it. I'm not saying you have to feel a certain way, but he deserves a chance," the maid urged her.

"I gave him one and he managed to destroy it in a matter of days," Arien replied, though she was beginning to consider reading whatever Merlin had to say if only because she couldn't stand the thought of him suffering. He'd upset her, but she did not want to make him miserable…again.

"At least read it, Arien," the maid pleaded. "He didn't put his soul on paper just to have you throw it away."

"Fine," she agreed, taking the parchment back from her fellow worker.

* * *

**_Arien,_**

**_I know you won't talk to me if I approach you, so this is the only way I can think of to apologize (even though I know my words aren't important to you anymore). You trusted me with your secret—I should've given you a chance with mine. But I didn't because I'm afraid. I feel like I can't trust anyone here—they'd judge me because of Uther's opinion of magic. You weren't like that, I know, but I'm not sure if you think differently now._**

**_Sorry, I'm really horrible at this. I don't know what I should say—the last thing I want is to say something and have it come out all wrong, like earlier today. I wasn't thinking (am I ever, I wonder?) and…stupid things just came out of my mouth. Lots of them, more than normal. Arien, if I could go back and change just one thing I said to you earlier today, I wouldn't do it just because I made such a mess of it all. It wasn't one mistake it was…a lot. You deserve an explanation, and I'm ready to give one right now. today. any time. whenever you want to hear one. It can be in front of all of Camelot for all I care, though that's not exactly my first choice._**

**_I love you and feel like the horse stables probably did a few days ago before I cleaned them a few days ago. Worse, actually, since they weren't too horrible. (See what I meant about having no aptitude for this? I'm bringing up horse dung.) I can't think of anything worse than losing you over this. Everything I said was in pure anger. And yes, I know that there's a little truth to everything that everyone says when they're upset. I'll admit that I would feel like nothing if I didn't have it, but I know that if I somehow woke up and all of that was gone, I'd pray that you'd still be here—not necessarily even in love with me, just here in Camelot so that I'd have some reason to exist._**

**_Words aren't working for me now, so if you want me to prove my feelings, I'll do it, no matter what it is. I'll find a way._**

**_I won't stop loving you, Arien, even if you give up on me._**

**_Affectionately,_**

**_Love,_**

**_Yours,_**

**_Merlin_**

* * *

Arien felt herself melting inside as she read it. She could almost see Merlin struggling to explain everything to her—gesturing wildly, breaking off in the middle of sentences, making himself look rather foolish. But she still was not thrilled that he'd kept something so colossal and life-changing a secret from her. Arien knew that not all sorcerers were evil, but magic was still a questionable ability. She wanted to talk to someone who knew Merlin well, preferably someone who also knew about his magic.

She glanced quickly around the kitchen. Everyone was preoccupied with something. Hopefully they wouldn't notice if she disappeared for a few minutes…or twenty. She needed to see the full picture and make sure that Merlin wasn't manipulating pretty words just to send her running into his arms.

It was high time to talk with Gaius.

* * *

"I need to talk with you about Merlin."

Arien's voice sent Gaius's head snapping straight up from his work. Apparently she was in a hurry; she'd simply opened the door and walked in. "Very well. What do you want to know?" he wondered cautiously.

"I'd appreciate it if you told me what he used his magic for. Aside from sweeping your floor," Arien stated crisply.

_He did that _again_? I've told him countless times not to use magic so idly!_ Gaius mentally complained. To Arien, he said, "I don't know what would make you believe that Merlin is a sorcerer, but I can assure you that he is not."

"You're quite good at this," Arien remarked. "Although I suppose you're just trying to protect him. I _saw_ him doing magic, Gaius, so it's useless to deny it."

"Arien, Merlin is like a son to me. I've done my best to raise him well, but apparently I neglected to mention that he should not lie about his abilities, especially when it's just getting girls to swoon over him," Gaius replied. "I think he owes me an explanation for all this."

"Well, you can go talk to him. I'll stop back here later—hopefully you'll feel free to explain a few things to me then," Arien responded, turning on her heel and leaving the room.

Gaius waited until she'd been gone for several minutes before continuing down the stairs. He didn't know if Arien had really seen Merlin using magic or if she was just trying to get information out of him, but he needed to make sure that Merlin knew what was happening.

It didn't take Gaius very long to find Merlin. He was moping around near Arthur's quarters, not doing anything obvious. "Merlin, Arien just came to see me," he muttered, taking a step closer to Merlin before continuing, "She claims to know about you."

"She does, Gaius. She saw the broom moving without anyone there to hold it. And I think we're over because of it," he replied glumly.

"I wouldn't place so much faith in that. She wanted to ask me about you. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't tell her something that could put you in danger," Gaius explained.

Merlin met Gaius's eyes hopefully. "I wrote to her today and tried to sort the whole thing out. Maybe she's talking to you because of that," he pondered.

"I'll let you know as soon as she speaks with me," Gaius promised Merlin.

* * *

At long last, the day was over.

Arien had been looking for an excuse to see Gaius ever since he'd dodged her questions about Merlin earlier. She'd been lucky to escape punishment for abandoning her duties for that short amount of time—she had not dared leave again. Hopefully Merlin would be busy elsewhere when she went to speak with Gaius.

The steps that led to his chambers seemed to fly by beneath her feet. This time, she knocked on the door, which Gaius answered. "I assume you've straightened things out with Merlin and made sure that he's all right about us talking about this," Arien said immediately.

"Yes, I did speak with him and he explained to me that you know about his magic," Gaius muttered, closing the door behind Arien. "What exactly did you want to know?"

"How does he use his magic?" Arien wondered bluntly.

Gaius was slightly taken aback by her bluntness, but explained, "I don't know what he used it for before he came to Camelot, but since he became Arthur's servant, he often uses it to defend Arthur. And he uses it to do his chores quite often, although I keep warning him that he shouldn't use it to accomplish anything that can be done without it."

Arien kept her tone nonchalant as she inquired, "And have you ever seen him do anything wrong or bad to anyone because of this?"

"Merlin wouldn't harm a fly with his magic. He'd do anything to save a life, even if it meant risking his—and he has, plenty of times. He may put on the façade that he doesn't like Arthur, but Merlin has saved his life at least a dozen times," Gaius clarified.

"Gaius, I sincerely hope you aren't lying to me, because I'm about to base some very important decisions on your opinion," Arien told him, painfully stoic.

"I understand that you and Merlin are having some…rough times, but I wouldn't lie to you. He'd just end up being even more miserable over losing you after he thought that everything was all right, and I don't want to see that happen to him," Gaius confessed.

"Thank you, Gaius. I appreciate your honesty," Arien said crisply before exiting Gaius's chambers.

She ran down the stairs, heading for Arthur's chambers. Disturbing the prince wasn't the most intelligent idea she'd had all day, but since he spent so much time with Merlin, he'd be able to help her make her final decision. Trying not to think about what she was doing, Arien banged on the prince's doors. "Who is it?" the prince called lazily.

"Just…Arien," she replied rather meekly.

"Come in, then," he beckoned.

Arien awkwardly opened the door and walked in. "Um, Your Highness, I was wondering if we could discuss something," she muttered.

Arthur strode into sight. "I hope it's about Merlin," he said.

"Actually, yes," she confessed. "I…learned something about him this morning, and for a while I wasn't sure where things would go between us. So I decided to get your opinion on him. And please be honest because if you don't, this'll fall apart all over again."

"Well, I'll tell you everything you need to know about Merlin. He's defiant, somewhat lazy, an idiot, and doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes," Arthur began. "He's also unbelievably loyal, honest, and doesn't do anything halfway—except his work."

Arien's eyes widened in shock. There was no doubt that Arthur had been completely honest with her—he would have left out half of what he said otherwise. "Thank you, my lord. I appreciate your honesty. You've given me something very important," she murmured, curtsying to Arthur.

"I only hope that you're going to patch things up with him. He's an absolute wreck without you," Arthur informed her. "It was so bad that I actually had to give him time to somehow contact you."

Arien bit back a laugh. "I hope he'll be a bit more…awake tomorrow, my liege. Speaking of Merlin…where is he, Sire?" she wondered.

Arthur shifted his eyes around the room a few times before answering rather uncomfortably, "In the stocks. I had to punish him somehow, so…"

"I understand, my lord," Arien replied. _But I don't have to be fond of it._ "Thank you, Prince Arthur," she said, curtsying one last time before leaving him alone in his quarters.

Tired of running, Arien walked quickly to the stocks. Not to her surprise, there was a crowd of people throwing rotten fruit at Merlin. She stood alongside a nearby wall, waiting until everyone had finished and was going back to get more fruit. Then she sprinted to Merlin's side. "As soon as you're out of here, we're going to talk," she whispered to him.

He craned his neck in an attempt to meet her eyes. "Thanks, Arien," he murmured.

"You're welcome," she replied, squeezing his hand briefly.

A fresh crowd was coming, baskets loaded with rotten fruit. Arien hurried out of the way and anxiously waited for Merlin's time in the stocks to be up. She wanted to hear the explanation of his magical abilities from his own mouth, just to make sure she was making the right decision.

Eventually, a guard released Merlin and he stood up straight, stretching his neck and arms. Arien walked over to him, her heart racing. "I'll help you get rid of some of this," she offered, "and you can tell me the full story."

"All right," he agreed.

They walked up the long flight of stairs to Gaius's tower in contemplative silence. Merlin was wondering what Arien's decision would be. She had been civil enough to him so far, but civility might not lead back to romance.

Meanwhile, Arien's heart was racing as she thought of everything that Arthur and Gaius had told her about Merlin. She only needed his side of the story before she made a final decision about their relationship. _I think I already know_, she realized as Merlin opened the door.

She followed him inside and sat at one of the benches as he got a bowl for the various vegetables and fruits covering his head, neck, and shoulders.

"So Merlin, please explain your magic to me," Arien asked, pulling something that vaguely resembled an apple out of Merlin's hair.

"I've had it ever since I can remember. It's not something I've ever had to study or think about—it just _happens_. I can move things with my eyes, slow them down, and sometimes I learn spells and use those. It's like…breathing, I guess," he explained. "But I've never use it for anything bad," he added hastily.

"Can you show me something?" she asked innocently. This was his last test.

"Sure, of course," he promised.

He muttered a few unintelligible words, cupping his hands together. He opened his hands, revealing an exquisite white rose with pink edges. "There," he said, presenting Arien with the flower.

"Well Merlin…I made my decision a while ago, but now it's final. I will _gladly _give you a second chance," Arien said, no longer pulling lettuce off of Merlin's neck.

If they were allowed a normal relationship, they would have shared a kiss with no hesitation. Instead, they embraced momentarily before they both realized that Merlin was still covered in rotten food.

"Thank you, Arien. I'm so glad you decided not to give up," Merlin confessed, visibly relieved by her decision.

"Well, after reading your note, I spoke with Gaius and Arthur, and they said a few things that led me to it," she explained, beginning to pick the food off of Merlin again.

"Can't say I blame you, after I hid something like that," he remarked.

Arien laughed. "Well, I think I understand it, finally. Now that we've both revealed our most precious secrets, I hope there's nothing else that needs to be said," she declared.

"Well, now that you know everything about my…ability, I should explain that, according to the dragon that Uther keeps imprisoned under his castle, it's my destiny to protect Arthur," Merlin informed her, perfectly serious.

Arien stared at him in shock for a moment. "I wasn't being completely serious when I asked that, but I appreciate your honesty," she replied, her tone softening. "Hmm, I'm afraid I don't have anything quite that interesting to explain. You already know that I wanted to be a bard, so…I suppose I could tell you that I _am_ literate, as are all of my siblings, and once wrote a love song."

"For who?" Merlin wondered. Somehow, he'd expected Arien to be new to the field of romance.

"No one," she confessed, rolling her eyes as she recalled that foolishness. "It was absolutely atrocious. I'm sure that I could write something a bit better now."

"Then what were you singing yesterday?" he inquired.

"An old song that I heard from a bard in Greendale a few years back. I loved it so much that I asked the bard to write it down for me. It's much more beautiful with the harp, but I never learned to play," Arien clarified, a note of sorrow in her voice at the end.

"You have a talent for singing, Arien," Merlin said to her. "Don't give up on it."

"I haven't. It's just…not right for me to leave Camelot right now. If I ever feel like I'm supposed to go, I will, but now…I like it a bit too much to leave," she confessed, gently touching Merlin's arm.

"I'm glad," he revealed, hugging her quickly. "We should be leaving soon, though."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow," she replied before leaving the chamber, making sure that the door was thoroughly closed behind her. She was sure that Merlin wouldn't appreciate any more unexpected visitors.


	10. The Blacker Art

**A/N: Here is the 2****nd**** part of the previous chapter. For those of you in the U.S., enjoy S3E3 for me—I'm missing it cuz I'm going to see a friend…but I'm going to watch it on Sunday night when I get back. Please let me know what you think of this chapter—I appreciate it when you share your opinions, both good and bad (no flames though, please). Hope you like this as much as you seem to have liked all the previous stuff! **_**Merlin **_**is not mine; it belongs to BBC/SyFy/NBC/Arthurian legend writers.**

**(A quick note—there is some violence in this chapter, though I don't think it's too horrible. Still, if you're a person who's really bothered by that kind of thing, read warily.**

* * *

The work day had passed more quickly than Arien had thought; from the beginning, today had almost promised to drag by, cruelly stretching the time before she and Merlin got to talk. She hummed a love song as she strolled out to the courtyards. The sun was mostly set, but with any luck, Merlin would arrive before it was all the way down so that they could watch it sink below the horizon together.

A rough hand grasped her arm firmly. "This was easier than I expected," a disturbingly gravelly voice hissed from behind Arien.

The first thing she wanted to do was scream for Merlin—he would be able to help—but if she called his name, the man would remember it and might come after him.

She was fairly certain that the man who held her was not Brant, but it was almost a guarantee that the fellow was an agent of her betrothed. Before she could make an attempt to twist out of his grip, the man yanked her backwards and coiled his arms around her tightly, making it difficult for her to breathe and impossible to move. "You thought you was so clever the first time he came lookin' for you, hidin' as a servant. Brant don't forget a face like yours too easy," the man rumbled.

"At least I'm capable of proper speech," Arien snapped, immediately regretting it.

"Let's see how 'proper' it is after I go an' snap your vocal cords!"

The man pressed a point on Arien's neck. She vaguely remembered reading something about it; there was something that…it did…something happened…during…when…

She crumpled in the man's arms. "Didn't even fight," he muttered as he carried Arien's body cautiously through the side streets of Camelot.

* * *

Arien hadn't come home today.

It was completely possible that she was still talking with Merlin; occasionally, they lost track of time when they were together. But Arien was later than she'd ever been, which worried Aurelia. She ran over half of the way back to the castle and took the steps up to Gaius's tower three at a time. Once she'd reached the door, she knocked firmly on the door and stood hunched over, catching her breath.

Merlin opened the door about a minute after Aurelia knocked. By that time, she was able to gasp, "Have you seen Arien?"

"Not since this afternoon. We were supposed to meet in the courtyards like always, but she wasn't there. I figured she wasn't feeling well and was going to drop by later," Merlin explained, looking moderately confused.

"She's not home, unless she got there after I left. Maybe she just had to work for longer than normal," Aurelia replied.

"It's kind of late for her to be working," he remarked. After a moment's pause, he worriedly added, "Do you think she left?"

He didn't want to wonder why she'd go without telling him, but if she'd kept it from him in order to make it less painful, it had not worked. It hurt for him to ponder something like this. "She told me she wanted to be a bard," he said as an afterthought. No matter where she was, he'd feel the ache of loneliness in his soul until she was back.

"Arien wouldn't leave without telling anyone. Besides, I can tell that she wouldn't be happy to leave Camelot now," Aurelia responded.

They both exchanged a worried look, the same fear gnawing at both of their hearts. There seemed to be only one more explanation for Arien's inexplicable absence. "No. It can't be him," Merlin stated in an attempt to reassure himself. "He came here before and didn't do anything."

Aurelia shook her head at him. "It very well could be, Merlin. Arien explained the whole situation to me in extreme detail and from what she told me, the man is a mastermind. It's definitely conceivable that he lulled Arien into a false sense of security by not capturing her."  
"If she's not back tomorrow, I'm going to look for her," he decided.

"I know I can't stop you," Aurelia began, "but it's my duty to warn you. Arien is keeping her betrothal secret for a reason. Brant is possibly the most violent man in all of Camelot—he will torture and kill anyone involved with Arien's disappearance. The woman that told Arien about Brant wouldn't even reveal her name—that's how bad this man is. I would assume that his residence is well-guarded, especially near where he keeps…the women."

"I understand, Aurelia. I promise to bring Arien home safely," Merlin vowed.

"Thank you, Merlin. Try your best to keep yourself safe as well if you end up leaving—Arien would hate herself if you were injured in the process of rescuing her," Aurelia told him, quickly embracing the young man.

"I promise. She'll be home safe before long…if she's gone to begin with," he replied, hoping that Arien had somehow eluded both of them and was safely at home.

"I trust you completely with her," Aurelia said before turning around and walking down the flight of stairs with less urgency than she had used ascending them.

Merlin closed the door behind her and ran to his chamber. He pulled up a floorboard and took a thick leather book out from the empty space. If he needed to rescue Arien, he wanted to be well-versed in helpful spells.

* * *

The sun struggled to shine through the heavy black curtains. Arien stretched herself out, feeling very sore. She groaned unhappily at the throbbing in her head—being knocked out wasn't agreeing with her mind. Slowly, she remembered the encounter in the alley and curled into a fetal position, hoping that somehow making herself as small as possible would take away the pain that was about to come.

"It's taken you long enough," a smooth voice remarked from somewhere behind her.

The voice sent chills running through Arien. "What did you expect, Brant? The man you sent wasn't exactly small," she snapped.

"No matter. It really _is_ wonderful to see you again," he declared, the sound of his footsteps echoing.

"I'm afraid I can't say the same," Arien replied, pulling herself off of the floor, though her eyes still looked downwards.

"Usually, I'm not overly fond of people knowing about what I do," Brant stated as he stopped in front of Arien. "However, it's always entertaining to break a spirit as strong as yours."

"Who says you will?" she retorted.

Brant laughed masochistically. "Oh, I've had _plenty _of practice, Arien. I can tell you're going to make life very interesting for me up until our wedding."

Arien laughed harshly. "I'll be shocked if you allow me to live that long," she hissed.

"I can control myself, though that seems to be a quality that you're severely lacking," Brant responded. "But that's why I have you here—to teach you to _listen_."

As he finished his sentence, he shoved Arien against the wall and forced her eyes to meet his. "First, _look at me_," he ordered.

Arien stared at a point just over his shoulder. "My _eyes_, Arien, LOOK AT THEM!" he yelled, punching her in the throat.

She tried to scream, but the effort hurt too much. Slowly, she forced her eyes up to meet Brant's. _He will not break me. I have something to hold onto_, she reminded herself as he rained blows down upon her stomach.

It grew more difficult to ignore the pain with each hit. Arien wanted to scream Merlin's name only to comfort herself, but knew that to do so was a death sentence for Merlin.

"Next lesson starts tomorrow," Brant snapped, kicking Arien roughly in the ribs.

She cowered on the floor, waiting anxiously for him to leave. It was impossible for her to ignore the pain in her abdomen—even breathing was painful.

_Leave it behind_, she told herself.

Arien closed her eyes, remembering the last time she and Merlin had talked, and slowly lost herself in the beauty of the memory. For a few moments, she was completely at peace, remembering how beautiful Merlin's eyes were and how inexperienced he was when it came to love—much like her. It was sweet how he was always smiling when they were together, always looking forward to any moment they could share.

_I love him_, she thought as her eyes slowly closed from exhaustion.

Arien drifted in a place that can only be reached by people who have experienced great pain, a place that allowed her to pretend that she was back in her bed at her home in Greendale, exhausted, but without any great worries.

* * *

Two days was far too long. Merlin had gone out of his way to scour the entire castle, searching for any possible trace of Arien. Both days, he explored every inch of the castle twice, once during the day in a great rush, and again at night with a bit more thoroughness. After searching the castle for the fourth time, Merlin finally admitted to himself that Arien was not in Camelot—but he wanted to be sure that she was kidnapped and not just extremely busy.

Up in Gaius's tower, Merlin pulled his magic book out of its hiding place and flipped through it, searching for a spell that could show him where Arien was. Eventually, he came across one that would allow him to see what Arien was seeing.

He took a moment to clear his mind, thinking only of Arien, allowing her to fill his mind. Slowly, he began to incant the spell, making sure that his pronunciation and diction were perfect, still thinking of Arien all the while. He felt himself slipping into an odd state, as if he was no longer himself.

_Complete blackness everywhere._

_ The floor was cold, hard, and rather lumpy, but motion was not a possibility—that was a bit too painful. The door swung open, then closed just as quickly. Footfalls approached._

_ "You're doing quite admirably…for a woman."_

_ "If only _you_ could be so strong."_

_ "Careful, Arien. The more you talk, the longer it hurts."_

_ Pain—sharp, shooting agony in the ribs. "You can't control my pain!"_

_ A laugh. "Oh, I can do _anything I want_, Arien."_

_ "We're only betrothed, Brant, so you don't have _anything._ I'm still a member of my father's household."_

_ "But he's not here to save you."_

_ Pain, agony, unending—_

Merlin felt a jerk and was suddenly staring at the ceiling of his room. His nightmares had been confirmed. Arien had been captured by Brant and Merlin needed to rescue her.

Later that night, after Gaius had been asleep for quite some time, Merlin snuck out of the tower. He skulked along the corridors, making his way to the kitchens.

"What are you doing, _Mer_lin?" a familiar voice asked.

Merlin stopped where he was. "I was…hungry," he said, hoping that Arthur would leave him alone.

"Well that's a bit of a shock, since it can't be that long since you had dinner," the prince remarked. "I think you're getting it for someone else."

"No, it actually _is_ for me," Merlin explained. _Just not for right now._

"_Really_, Merlin. I am the prince of Camelot; do you think I'm that thick?" Arthur wondered rather threateningly. "You're not down here for yourself; I know that much. What I'm curious about is why Arien can't get her own food."

"It's a rather urgent matter, but I promise I'll explain it when I return," Merlin said. Perhaps the prince would be satisfied.

"Urgent, you say? More urgent than your loyalties?" Arthur inquired.

"It's literally life and death!" Merlin exclaimed.

"In that case, you owe me an explanation," Arthur commanded.

"You want one? Very well! Arien's been captured by Lord Brant, her fiancé who enjoys torturing women, and is probably having her…hair ripped out or something!" Merlin explained passionately. "And I'm going to save her," he added rather lamely.

Arthur chuckled. "Merlin, if you think torture is a man ripping out a woman's hair, you've led a very sheltered life." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Though the fact that Arien is betrothed _does_ explain a lot about your relationship with her."

"You know what I meant. It's not whether he's ripping out her hair or her entrails—" he stated before he paused, shuddering for a second, "Arien's in pain and I promised that I'd save her," Merlin said, his tone slightly more subdued. "Even if I didn't promise Aurelia, I couldn't live without her, especially not while knowing what's happening to her. She's…very important to me."

"She won't be much better off if you come after her alone," Arthur noted. "I'm going with you, mainly because if she dies, you'll mope around and I won't get anything out of you for weeks."

"Arthur, we have to go _soon_. From what Arien and Aurelia told me, Brant knows exactly how to torture people so that they'll look fine in a few weeks. And I think Arien only has two weeks, so she'd look fine _at the wedding_," Merlin explained, sickened at the thought of Arien being forced to spend the rest of her life with someone who would repeatedly abuse her.

"I can't just leave, _Mer_lin, I'm going to need some sort of excuse," Arthur said, smacking the back of Merlin's head.

"Tell him you're hunting," Merlin decided.

"Then how will I explain coming back with an injured woman a few days later?" Arthur asked.

"Say you found her in the woods," offered Merlin.

"Oh, that won't arouse _any _suspicion," Arthur critiqued, sarcasm dripping off of his tone. "Because it's _completely_ normal for a man to come home to his father after a hunting trip and say, 'No, Father, I didn't catch any animals, but I _did_ find this injured young woman lying on the forest floor—a young woman who looks suspiciously like one of your kitchen maids who was kidnapped by her deranged fiancé less than a week ago.'"

There was a long and rather awkward pause before Merlin replied, "Or you could try something else."

"That's kind of what I was thinking," Arthur mused, his sarcasm diminishing greatly. "Perhaps I'll tell him that I'm going to see the kingdom, get to know the people, and add in something about kingship and knowing my duties. Then we'll be free to find Arien, bring her back here, and bring Brant to justice."

"All right. Talk to Uther first thing in the morning. I'll go to Aurelia and see if she knows where Brant lives," Merlin suggested.

"Good. Get back and rest—we're going to cover as much ground as we can tomorrow," Arthur told his servant.

"Right," Merlin replied as he left the castle and hurried towards Aurelia's house.

He knocked firmly on the door five times, then stood outside, anxiously drumming his fingers against the doorframe. "Come on, _hurry_!" he muttered.

When no one answered, Merlin banged on the door and shouted, "HELLO?"

He heard something faint from the other side of the door. "Just hold on a moment!" Aurelia's voice called anxiously.

A few minute later, she opened the door, looking rather disheveled. "Did you find out anything about Arien?" she wondered anxiously. Arien was worth losing sleep over.

"I did. She's with Brant and I'm going to rescue Arien tomorrow. Arthur's coming with me. I need to know if you know where Brant lives—and anything else about him that might help me," he said.

"He's a few leagues outside of Camelot, I believe—it's rather deserted. I don't think you'll have any problem finding it," Aurelia explained. "As for other information, Arien mentioned that he has a close friend who was also a lord…his name started with an S…Sar-something."

"I'll ask…someone about the Sar person. And I think I'll be able to find it easily," Merlin replied. "Thank you for…everything. Helping me, letting Arien stay with you…"

"Oh, it's all been a pleasure to me. Arien's such enjoyable company—she's really made things come to life around here, especially now that she's growing closer to you. And the fact that you're rescuing her is…it means a lot, Merlin. Any man can say that he loves a woman, but not many are brave enough to prove it," Aurelia told him, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I promise I'll bring her home safely," Merlin reassured her, placing his hand on her shoulder for a moment.

"Thank you. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go back to bed now," Aurelia said.

"All right. Don't worry about her," Merlin replied as Aurelia closed the door.

_How is she _not_ supposed to worry?_ he asked himself, knowing that he'd be pacing constantly if he had to sit and wait while Arien was being tortured.

As he walked back to Gaius's tower, Merlin wondered what was happening to Arien now. Was she allowed to sleep or was Brant slowly beating the life out of her? He didn't know if he could sleep now that he was almost certain that she'd been kidnapped. _I need to sleep. For her_, he told himself.

* * *

"Morning, love."

The dark voice—and the violent shake that came with it—woke Arien quickly. She didn't even attempt to move because she knew that with motion came more pain. Her eyes slowly opened to see Brant's intimidating figure towering over her. "It's time for your second lesson. A woman should _always_ address her betrothed with respect," Brant snapped, kicking Arien's side.

"For the most part, I agree—a woman should speak to her beloved respectfully—unless he has done nothing to deserve her respect," she snapped. Agreeing with Brant would not make her feel any better.

"Then there's no time like the present to start," he suggested. "Stand up and face me."

Arien obeyed, crossing her eyes gently over her ribs, more to protect herself than put on a show of false defiance. "Arms at your side!" he cried.

"If you pride yourself so much on your torture expertise, you should know what you did to my ribs yesterday," Arien retorted.

"I know _exactly_ what I did, my dear," Brant explained. "And I happen to know that you are nowhere near being ruined. In fact, it will take quite some time for you to be a complete mess."

"Wow, so you're capable of reading minds now? I had no idea," Arien wondered caustically.

"Your thoughts aren't as private as you think, Arien," Brant hissed. "In fact, you're quite easy to read—you're overly passionate about everything, including your defiance of me. Move your arms…now."

His whisper was more frightening than a shout, but Arien did not move. "Right now, I don't feel very threatened by you," she remarked coolly, though inside she was quivering with fear.

"Let's see if this changes anything," growled Brant, pulling a knife from his belt.

Arien instinctively ducked away from him, crouching to the floor, but Brant was truly as experienced as he said he was. He forced her face first to the floor, his knee in the center of her back and his hand holding down her head. She struggled for breath, her already damaged ribcage further strained under Brant's weight.

"You defy me, I break you," he stated as if it were the simplest type of logic. "Now _stay_."

He pulled her left arm back with his free hand, released her head, and slowly pressed the blade into her upper arm. Arien screamed as the knife sunk deeper into her flesh. There was something good, something that was keeping her from dying. She only had to remember what it was.

A person. A young man. One who loved her and would do anything to save a life. The one who would come for her.

_Merlin._

Just thinking his name made the pain slightly more tolerable for Arien. _Someone_ loved her, and she was not about to let go of that.

"There's the beginning of your name," Brant informed Arien matter-of-factly as he removed the knife from her arm and nonchalantly cleaned it on his shirt. "Every time you blatantly defy me like that, I will make part of another letter until you remember what you've brought upon yourself."

Arien mumbled some sort of response as Brant removed his knee from her back. He kicked her over to her front. "Now," he said, "let's see what I can do about that face of yours."

* * *

"Arthur, are you _sure_ that you are willing to venture outside of the castle with only _Merlin_ as protection?" King Uther asked his son.

"Yes, Father. Merlin may be an idiot, but he's…capable of things…sometimes," Arthur replied firmly.

Uther looked at his son, pondering what he should do. After a very pregnant pause, he spoke. "You may go, Arthur, but if you are gone for more than two weeks without word, I am sending knights to search the realm for you."

"Very well, Father. I will not disappoint you," Arthur promised before he left to pack a few things for his journey with Merlin.

His servant was anxiously awaiting Arthur in the prince's chambers. "How'd it go?" Merlin wondered as soon as Arthur entered the room.

"He agreed to let me go, as long as it's for less than two weeks," Arthur told Merlin.

"Good; that gives us plenty of time to rescue her and make it back here without arousing too much suspicion," Merlin said. "How long until we leave?"

"No more than a few hours, probably not even that. Don't worry, we'll take some of the best horses," Arthur reassured Merlin.

"Arthur, this is life and death," Merlin reminded him urgently. "I'd really appreciate it if you could speed things up a bit! This isn't some…princely hunt, it's Arien's _life_!"

"Merlin, I can only do so much, but I promise that I will make my request the first priority of my father," Arthur stated.

"Hopefully that's enough," Merlin snapped. He knew that he was being rather rude, but he wanted to make sure that Arien got help as soon as possible.


	11. Salvation

**A/N: Wow, thanks so much for your feedback! My weekend wasn't as good as I hoped, so it was excellent to come home to all of your wonderful comments. :D So as a reward for your awesomeness, here's the next chapter (which you will hopefully find highly enjoyable)! As usual, **_**Merlin**_** does not belong to me; it's property of BBC/NBC/SyFy/Arthurian legend writers. Also, there is some more violence this chapter (and I believe it's a bit more severe than the previous stuff, though nothing too drastic), so read with discretion if you're extremely bothered by it.  
**

**Oh, and here's a random quote that a friend of mine wrote online...it fits the weird emotions I'm currently experiencing:**

**"You shouldn't try to stop everything from happening. Sometimes you're supposed to feel awkward. Sometimes you're supposed to be vulnerable in front of people. Sometimes it's necessary because it's all part of you getting to the next part of yourself."  
**

**There, I hope you found that as enriching as I did. :)**

* * *

Aurelia knew that the next few nights would be sleepless for her. Merlin and Arthur had left to look for Arien earlier that day, but Aurelia did not know how much damage would be done to Arien by the time they reached her. She knew that nothing would be too horribly permanent, but Arien had become like a sister to her. If anything bad happened to the girl, Aurelia would feel partly responsible. She wished that she could have somehow gone with the boys, but she knew that she would only be a burden on them.

_Arien is in excellent hands. Arthur is a just young man and Merlin loves her_, she told herself. _She'll be home safe in a week or less._

She could only pray that Brant would not capture Arthur and Merlin as well.

* * *

"I _swear_ it's left, Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed.

"Merlin, you know absolutely nothing about the geography of this kingdom. You told me that Brant lived a few leagues outside of Camelot and that his house was rather secluded. I'm almost positive that it's to the right. Remind me exactly _why_ you want to go left?" Arthur wondered.

"I have a feeling," Merlin stated firmly.

"Ah yes, your undying love will somehow lead us to Arien. What a perfectly _logical_ idea, _Mer_lin," Arthur remarked.

Merlin glared at Arthur for a moment before angrily replying, "Fine! We'll see who was right after we've wasted more valuable time."

They rode off down the right fork of the road and, to Arthur's chagrin, did not find Brant's manor. As they turned around, Merlin said smugly, "Love conquers all."

"All but your stupidity," Arthur muttered morosely.

"You were wrong about the road—how do you know you're not wrong about me being an idiot?" Merlin asked cheekily.

"You're lucky we need to be somewhere," Arthur retorted, grinning impishly.

"Speaking of being somewhere, do you have any idea how we're going to get inside?" Merlin wondered.

"Oh, I was thinking we might just be able to walk in his front door and ask politely if he'd give us Arien," Arthur remarked sarcastically.

"Since you're rather busy being…yourself, I'll suggest that we could sneak in through a side door, find where Arien is, and watch her door for a few hours to make sure that we won't walk in while Brant is…" Merlin explained, unwilling to finish his thought.

"For the amount of time we have, I think it's the best thing we could do. You may be an idiot, Merlin, but you have strange moments of brilliance from time to time," Arthur said.

It took a while, but eventually, the young men reached a turn in a road. _We're almost there_, Merlin told himself. _She'll be safe soon enough_.

"We should get off the road in case someone decides to come or leave," Arthur suggested.

Merlin nodded his agreement and they both led their horses off the road and onto the grass. His heart sped up with each moment that brought them closer to Arien. He needed to find her and get her out of this place as soon as he possibly could.

"Do you think we could go a bit faster?" he asked Arthur.

"Not much. If anyone sees us, we don't want them to suspect that we're here for any reason," Arthur informed Merlin.

"But she's being _abused_!" Merlin exclaimed, using almost all of his self-control to keep himself from spurring his horse forwards.

"You really care about her, don't you?" Arthur wondered, his tone pensive.

"I have for a while, Arthur," Merlin murmured.

"I know, but…you're doing all this for one girl. You must love her a lot," Arthur pondered.

"I do. It's not easy, keeping what we have when we both want something else, but…we managed it," Merlin explained.

"Well, in that case, we can go a bit faster," Arthur decided.

* * *

_Knock knock_.

The sound forced Arien out of her stupor. She stood up, hoping that she'd look a bit stronger. The door opened and a small man entered, holding a tray with a small loaf of bread, a pitcher of water, and a satisfactory apple. "Thanks," she said to the man, offering a weak smile.

He nodded, handed the tray to her, and left. As soon as the door had closed and locked behind him, Arien began to ponder what she should do with the food. There was an excellent chance that Brant had drugged it, but whatever he used couldn't be strong. Besides, if she didn't eat the food, he'd come and literally force it down her throat. _And I should do something about my arm_, she decided. The cut Brant had made hadn't been cleaned and was starting to turn a strange color.

She sat on the floor, placing the tray beside her, and poured a bit of the water onto the cleanest part of the hem of her dress into the water. Arien knew that the wound would eventually fester, but she hoped that she could subdue the process a bit.

The wound was not pleasant to look at, but Arien forced herself to watch it as she cleaned, removing as much blood and pus as she possibly could, wincing the whole way. Now it was time to do something with the food. _Well, I'm not eating it, but I probably should at least have some of the water,_ she decided. _But not too much._

She slowly brought the pitcher to her lips. The water was so refreshing as it trickled down her throat, but Arien didn't allow herself to have too much—if it was drugged (which was probably the case), she didn't want it to addle her brain too much.

Once she'd had a bit of water, she strategically dumped the water around the room, making sure that there were no large puddles anywhere. Then, she proceeded to crumble the bread and sprinkle the bits around the room, feeling her stomach growl as she did so. _Hunger is better than what would happen if I ate it_, she reminded herself.

Now for the apple—what to do with it? She couldn't break it up without using her teeth, and she did not trust herself to bite into the apple. Since there was nowhere to hide it, she simply placed the apple in a corner and sat nonchalantly on the other side of the room, pretending that she'd eaten everything.

Her head slowly started to spin, but Arien hadn't had enough of the water for it to do anything too serious to her brain. Brant would be coming to see how much of the drug she'd taken any moment now.

Before long, the door was opened and unlocked, revealing Brant on the other side. "Well, good morning," she said, her voice disgustingly chipper.

"I'm not surprised," he retorted. "And I see you've done a decent job of disposing of it." He gestured broadly to the room.

"You thought I'd just let you control me like that?" she retorted.

Brant laughed. "I was thinking you might learn something. Apparently you didn't, so I'll just have to teach you."

"Oh joy," she remarked sarcastically.

"You're going to learn how to _shut up!_" he shouted, kicking her in the ribs.

Arien fell onto her back, groaning. "You can't make me," she moaned defiantly.

"Just wait, Arien. Wait and watch."

Brant slammed her head into the ground and—

* * *

The manor stood alone near a forest. There was a village a ways back on the road, but there were no travelers who went between Brant's manor and the town other than Merlin and Arthur. "Merlin, I was thinking…perhaps we can deceive Brant," Arthur suggested. "At least if we're caught, it won't be as ourselves."

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Merlin wondered warily.

"I could sell him weapons, perhaps a special knife?" Arthur suggested.

"That could work, as long as you have something to sell him. And as long as you're careful—his _activities _are kind of a secret. But he has a friend who does the same things as him…Lord Sar-something," Merlin replied.

"Sarben?" Arthur asked.

"Aurelia didn't know the full name, but yeah, that's probably right," Merlin said.

"It makes sense. He's a rather odd man—one more thing to tell my father about when we return," Arthur said before continuing, "Then I'll be a merchant sent to Lord Brant by Lord Sarben," Arthur decided.

"But what does that make me?" Merlin asked, half dreading the reply.

Arthur answered, "You won't have to act at all. You'll be my servant. And I think it'd be best if you don't speak. Just be a lot less cheeky than you normally are."

"Excellent. Thanks," Merlin remarked, rolling his eyes.

"Do it for Arien," Arthur told his manservant motivationally.

_He'll be using that against me from now on_, Merlin realized rather unhappily.

"We'll need to change our appearances a bit. We have to look like we're used to living in…unfavorable conditions," Arthur stated.

"And by this you mean…?" Merlin inquired.

"We need to look somewhat filthy. Just pick up some dirt and rub it over yourself. We can clean up later," Arthur explained.

Merlin and Arthur each grabbed a handful of dirt and rubbed it over their faces and clothes, both looking relatively unhappy about the whole process.

"And you shouldn't be on that horse. You'll have to lead it for a while. And just to add to the effect, look like I physically abuse you on a regular basis," Arthur added once he and Merlin were sufficiently coated in dirt.

Merlin wanted to say something in response, but decided to take up his role of being completely under Arthur's control. He dismounted and led his horse, hunching his shoulders a bit and looking as afraid as he could. It wasn't as hard as he had expected—in fact, it was a relief to be able to express how afraid he was for Arien.

"Come _on_!" Arthur called angrily to Merlin, grabbing his collar as they approached the manor. "And make sure you're looking around," he hissed.

Both of them examined the house as they approached it, looking for possible unguarded entrances—and closely observing how closely the guarded doors were watched.

Merlin nodded vigorously, his eyes wide, and began to walk faster. They were almost to the door by now. "Who goes there?" one of the guards asked Arthur.

"My name is Richard. I'm a merchant and I believe I have some _items_ that your master would be interested in. Bring him down and tell him he won't be sorry—and mention that Lord Sarben sent me," Arthur ordered.

"Very well. Wait here," the guard told him.

"Jim! Get the horses up here NOW!" Arthur yelled at Merlin.

Merlin hurried towards his master, leading the horses after him.

"Once we're done here, make sure you look _closely_ at the west end of the house. There's a door there that we'll use to go in tonight. We'll camp in the woods near to the village, then take the horses back here, tether them in the woods, and do our job," Arthur muttered to Merlin, who nodded in response.

They waited for Brant to come down, both playing their assigned parts to perfection. Several minutes later, a tall, muscular man with dark hair appeared at the door. "You say Sarben sent you here?" he wondered.

"Truly he did, my lord. You see, I'm quite friendly with him and several other men who are…let's say that all of you share a hobby, one which I can help you…ah, _pursue_," Arthur began, winking cunningly. "I'm always looking for someone to sell my latest wares to."

"I see. And what might you have for me?" Brant wondered, interest creeping into his voice.

"Well, I have a fine selection of knives that are easily hid—in the boot, up the sleeve, wherever you might want to slip such a weapon. And there are a few—JIM! Why aren't you showing Lord Brant what I'm talking about?" Arthur suddenly shouted.

"Y-yes, master," Merlin whispered fearfully.

Hands shaking, he dug around in Arthur's saddlebags until he found the prince's knife. It _could_ easily be concealed; at least Arthur had thought about what he was going to say before he opened his mouth. Cautiously, Merlin held the sheathed knife out to his master, who snatched it angrily. "This one's quite good, but there's another…BOY! Get me the _good_ knife too!" Arthur exclaimed.

"But master, don't you…" Merlin began, averting his eyes from Arthur's. He hadn't seen another knife and hoped that Arthur had one on his person.

"Shut up, Jim!" Arthur shouted, smacking Merlin forcefully on the back of the head. "Now," he continued, addressing Brant now, "_here's_ something you might be a bit more interested in."

Arthur pulled a perfectly concealed dagger from his boot, flipped it, and caught it in his hand. Brant eyed the knife admiringly, picking it up from Arthur's hand. "Excellent workmanship. Looks like it was made for a great man," he said with a possible note of suspicion in his voice.

_He suspects us!_ Merlin thought, his heart speeding up.

Arthur was quite composed. "Funny you should say that," he remarked, grinning complacently. "I looked long and hard for something this well-made. Long story short, a friend of mine knows a man who was able to nab one off the prince. The poor prat probably _still _has no idea where it went!"

Merlin had to put his head down and bite back a laugh. He never thought he'd see the day when Arthur spoke so lowly of himself.

Brant chuckled, apparently reassured that Arthur was not the prince. "How much do you want for this?" he asked.

"Ah, that'll be a steep price—it wasn't easy _or_ cheap to get a piece of work like this. I'd say…twenty gold pieces, but for you, I'll go as low as seventeen," Arthur decided.

"Seventeen? What did you do, walk up to the prince and snatch it out of his hand?" Brant inquired. "I won't go any higher than five, and that's almost robbery."

"Then perhaps you'd be better off with the other one. Fifty silver pieces for it," Arthur stated firmly.

Brant gritted his teeth. "Do you happen to have anything…in between?" he wondered.

"Not at the moment, but I can find something and bring it here in a few weeks," answered Arthur.

"Hmm. That sounds decent. I'll be able to use it a bit more then," Brant replied, a sick grin parting his lips.

"Very well. Pleasure doing business with you, sir," Arthur said, firmly shaking Brant's hand.

"Jim! Get the horses ready!" Arthur shouted at Merlin, who proceeded to lead the horses away from the door. He gave the reins to Arthur, who mounted his horse and snapped, "Keep up this time."

They made their way down the road in character until they were around the corner. Then, Arthur and Merlin both released massive sighs. "I never thought I'd hear you call yourself a prat," Merlin remarked, amused.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur snapped.

"I don't have to anymore," he replied boldly.

"You're right, I suppose. I'm just glad we did it without arousing suspicion. Now we'll get ourselves cleaned up and find a place in the woods to stay until later tonight. Then we will go back, sneak in the side door, get Arien, and get out," explained Arthur.

"Hopefully it will be that easy. I will need your help to get her out of the room—even if she's fully awake, she won't have an easy time walking by herself," Merlin added.

"When did we decide that you were going to take her out of the room? We need to get her out quickly and you're not exactly…strong," Arthur replied.

"Arthur, I've come all this way to save her. I'm not just going to stand by and let you play the hero!" Merlin exclaimed.

"I'm not asking you to do that. I'm asking you to stay in the hall and make sure we don't all get caught. Besides, she'll be riding with you the whole way back, so you're definitely contributing. And you're the one who organized this entire mission," Arthur clarified. At Merlin's sullen look, he continued, "I'm not doing this to make you feel useless, Merlin. Arien needs to get back to Camelot—I'm just doing my best to make sure she comes back alive."

"Fine," Merlin agreed unwillingly. "But for the whole way home, she's with me."

"That's all right with me," Arthur complied. "Now let's get rid of some of this dirt."

* * *

The night wasn't as dark as Arthur and Merlin had hoped, but it would provide sufficient cover for them as they rescued Arien. They rode their horses to the edge of the woods where they tethered them and continued to the mansion on foot. Most of the windows were dark, but there was a small shaft of light coming from one of the upper rooms. "I hope it's unlocked," Merlin whispered to Arthur.

"Shh. If you don't shut up, we'll have larger issues than locked doors," Arthur hissed as they proceeded to the small side door.

Fortunately, it was unlocked, allowing both of them to slip into the mansion. "All right, Merlin, let love lead you," Arthur ordered him.

"What?" Merlin whispered as loudly as he dared.

"You were right about the house; maybe you'll be right about where she is as well," Arthur pointed out.

"All right. Second floor, probably somewhere in the middle," Merlin guessed, hoping he was close. They couldn't try very many doors without alerting someone to their presence.

They proceeded up a flight of stairs. The corridor was currently deserted and almost completely dark. "Walk slowly so we can listen," Merlin muttered.

Slowly, they skulked along the walls, listening at every door for a sound—anything that might lead them to believe that a wounded woman was inside.

Almost halfway down the hall, Arthur gestured to a door. Merlin nodded, indicating that Arthur should open it.

Nothing.

They continued, paying even closer attention. Merlin opened and quickly closed another door. He was getting anxious—they couldn't try many more. _Careful_, he mouthed to Arthur.

_This one?_ the prince mouthed back.

_Sure,_ Merlin replied.

Arthur cautiously tried the door as Merlin pressed his ear to the wall and continued to walk thus, stopping if he heard anything other than his own footsteps. At last, he heard something that sounded like labored breathing in one door. He made sure that Arthur was occupied with something else before muttering a spell that unlocked the door. Hoping that love really _had_ led him to Arien, he opened it.

A young woman was curled in a ball on the floor, arms wrapped around her waist. Her hair was sprawling in all directions, a tangled mess. _Go_, Merlin told Arthur.

The prince entered the chamber, closing the door behind him. "Arien?" he called softly.

As he crouched beside her, she drew back for a moment, then slowly uncurled herself. "Merlin?" she mumbled, her eyes half open.

"Arthur, actually," he replied.

"Don't get mad about the bread," she said.

"I promise I won't." He figured that just going along with what she said was better than trying to explain anything, at least for now. "Arien, can you get up and walk?"

"Mmhmm," she murmured, slowly stretching out and opening her eyes.

Arthur put a hand on her back, helping her sit up. "I'm going to stand up now. Just hold my hands and I'll help you," he explained slowly. Something had addled her mind—drugs, a blow, lack of nourishment—but Arthur wasn't sure how severe the damage was.

She smoothed her skirts over her legs and gingerly pulled herself to her knees. As if she'd just realized what to do, Arien grabbed Arthur's hands and he pulled her up. The moment he loosened his grip, she began to sway, so he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his side to support her.

"OW, that hurts!" she exclaimed. "Don't press so hard."

Arthur relaxed his grip a bit, though he hadn't put much force into his touch. "We're going to walk to the door now," he clarified. "Merlin's right outside."

Arien slowly shuffled towards the door alongside him, her hands nearly cutting off the circulation in his arm. He opened the door with his free hand and cautiously led Arien out. "There you are," he said to Merlin, grinning before adding more seriously, "We'll have to carry her out. She isn't able to walk quickly enough."

Merlin agreed and swept Arien's legs up into his arms and Arthur carried her head and shoulders as they left the mansion and returned to the edge of the woods where they'd tethered their horses. The ride to their campsite was quick and rather uneventful, other than Arien nearly falling out of the saddle several times.

"We're setting you down now," Merlin told Arien once they'd reached the campsite.

Arien muttered something unintelligible about sweet bread as they set her on the bedroll they'd prepared beneath a tree. "I need to tell you something," Arthur muttered to Merlin, pulling him away from Arien.

"I hope it's important," Merlin hissed.

"It is. The first thing she said to me was _your name_. Even like this—drugged, probably—she remembers you," Arthur informed him.

Merlin was silent for a long time, pleasantly shocked. _She was thinking of _me_, even when I wasn't there. She had faith_, he realized.

"Thanks, Arthur," he finally replied. "We should let her get a bit of rest before we start moving again. No more than an hour, though."

"Definitely. You can watch over her while I get everything ready," Arthur told Merlin before going to thoroughly pack up the horses.

Merlin walked over to Arien and sank down beside her. She was fast asleep and looked…better than she had while awake, though her face was covered with cuts and bruises. Merlin also noticed a particularly disgusting wound on her arm that appeared to be festering. _She is his _betrothed_ and he will not even clean her wounds_, he thought bitterly.

"Merlin."

The word was scarcely a whisper, but Merlin recognized his own name when he heard it. He wanted to reply, but saw that Arien's eyes were still closed. _She's thinking of me_, he realized, deeply touched by the thought.

"Merlin."

"I'm here," he whispered, doubting she could hear him. "I love you."

He sat beside her, stroking her hair as he cried. It seemed like he noticed some new wound every time he looked at her—another cut, another bruise, or her labored breathing. The knowledge that a man who had promised to love her—one who was labeled "noble"—twisted Merlin's stomach. Arien was so perfect and innocent. She'd never done anything cruel to anyone. What kind of a man could bear to destroy such beauty? Whose mind would be sick enough to do such a thing as a _hobby_?

_Brant,_ Merlin thought, feeling hate fill his soul. He would make sure that the man never hurt another woman; he did not want anyone else to feel what he was feeling right now.

When Merlin had been watching her for nearly a quarter of an hour, Arien awoke fully. "Merlin, you are what kept me alive during every minute in there. Whenever the pain became unbearable, I thought of your name and was granted the strength to live. I love you, Merlin—now more than ever," she told him, her eyes open and her voice clear.

Seconds later, she fell back asleep.


	12. The Healing of Harms

**A/N: This is my second to last chapter (and the next chapter is **_**extremely**_** short). Sad day. :'( But I'm working on the sequel. Question is, do you want to read it on or not? (I'll write it either way, but if no one wants to read more, then I see no point in continuing.)**

**Anyways, I'm deeply sad that **_**Merlin**_** was not on on Friday, but at least I had someone to hang out with (and it was actually fun, unlike last time I hung out with someone on a Friday and missed episode 3…grr). I had every intention to update this sooner, but I had a cold and a large English paper to do, so it seems like those two things filled up my entire week.**

**Oh, and here's my epic story of the moment. I had an English test on Tuesday and had to study over 10 pages of notes for it (plus some stuff we read). I studied by relating everything to **_**Merlin**_** and I did well on the test! =D So yeah, this is my new study strategy; feel free to try it. I'm doing it for my next math test (although I have no idea how that's gonna work).**

**Holy cow, longest A/N in the history of A/Ns. Anywho, let me know what you think! And **_**Merlin**_** (as usual) isn't mine; it's the property of BBC/NBC/SyFy/Arthurian legend writers**_**.**_

**Also (yes, I'll shut up after this one thing), the bold/italics part is Merlin's letter; the part where it just goes straight-up bold is Arthur interjecting (by picking up a pen and writing over Merlin's shoulder), not me talking.**

* * *

Trees were everywhere—or that was what it looked like. The darkness made it rather difficult to tell.

The last thing she clearly remembered was being struck in the head by Brant after…after…she hadn't obeyed him in some way. She didn't eat. He wanted her to eat. But she _did_ drink. But something important had happened between then and now; that thing had somehow brought her here.

She was sitting in a clearing with two horses tethered nearby. Two figures sat in the center of the clearing, speaking quietly.

"Merlin?" she called, praying that she was not dreaming.

One of the figures turned around and looked directly at her. "You're awake!" he cried, running to her side.

"Yes, but I don't know how long it will last. Brant drugged my food about…early yesterday. I didn't eat it, but I had some of the water. He hit me in the head and I can barely remember what happened between now and then," she explained.

Merlin moved to hug her, but Arien put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "I know he did something to my ribs, but I have no idea how bad it is, so…you're not allowed to hold me as tightly as you'd like," she told him sadly.

"I'll do what I can," he decided, wrapping his arms around her and embracing her gently. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she replied, resting her head on his shoulder. "And thank you for rescuing me."

"How could I not?" Merlin wondered as he pulled away, looking Arien directly in the eyes.

"Merlin, Arien, I'm not exactly leaping with excitement to tell you this, but we should go soon," Arthur called to them.

"Can you stand?" Merlin asked her.

"I think I can make it over there," she replied, holding firmly to Merlin's hands as she stood up. "I'm not exactly sure what the combined effects of the drugged water and possible concussion are, so I could pass out at any moment, and I apologize if that's in the middle of a conversation."

"You're forgiven," Merlin said.

"So Arien, how are you?" Arthur inquired, offering her a piece of bread with cheese on it.

"As good as I can be for what's happened over the past few days. Brant is an expert at torture and healing, so he wouldn't do anything permanent unless it could be easily hidden. I could be mostly healed before our wedding, according to Brant," she clarified.

"Gaius will fix you up when we get back," Merlin promised her.

"And I'll talk to my father and have him annul the marriage," Arthur added.

"Thank you to both of you. It's very brave of you both to come here and risk your lives just to make sure I escape from Brant alive and unwed," Arien told them sincerely.

"All part of my job," Arthur replied.

They ate in relative silence, focusing on finishing quickly so that they could leave as soon as possible. "Can you ride?" Arthur asked her once they were finished.

"Well enough, but I'm not sitting on a horse alone," she answered.

"We weren't planning on that. You can ride with Merlin," Arthur informed her.

Arien smiled at Merlin as they walked over to the horse they were going to share. "You should get on first. It's been years since I've ridden, and I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea of falling, especially if it's on my head," Arien told him.

"Fair enough," he agreed, easily mounting the horse.

Arien stood cautiously below him. Very deliberately, she placed one foot in the stirrup, one hand on the pommel, and mounted the horse sidesaddle. Once she was up, Merlin put an arm around her waist, careful not to put any pressure on her sore ribs. "You did it, Arien," he murmured.

"Get rid of the rotting fish," she ordered him. "They stink."

"All right, Arien, just lay back and relax," Merlin said soothingly. "They'll go away."

She flopped against him and Merlin quickly put his other arm around her, holding her onto the saddle. "Arthur, she's out again," he called.

"Make sure you hold onto her tightly," Arthur ordered him. "We're going to ride fast. Hopefully we can reach Camelot tonight."

* * *

Gaius was sitting at a bench in his study, mixing a potion. Merlin and Arthur had been gone for almost two days now. If everything had gone smoothly, they would return soon, hopefully with Arien.

"Gaius, can you get the door?" Merlin shouted from outside.

Unhappily leaving his experiment, Gaius arose and opened the door. "She _conveniently_ decided to pass out while we were going up the stairs," Arthur, who was carrying half of Arien, griped.

"I think she has a concussion. And she was drugged a little bit," Merlin replied. "Once her head's bandaged up and the drug wears off, she'll be all right." _I hope_, he thought.

"Do you happen to know what he gave her?" Gaius asked.

"I'm not sure, but on the way home, she woke up and explained it to me. He put it in her water and food, but she didn't eat it, so he hit her over the head. She doesn't have a clear memory of anything that happened after that, but she thinks that Brant abused her more," Merlin clarified.

"Ah. And how long before you rescued her did Brant do this?" Gaius inquired.

"Um…maybe a day and a half ago?" Merlin replied, unsure of himself.

"Since she didn't ingest too much of the drug, she should be fine within a few hours. The concussion, however—she'll need to move slowly and be around others constantly for a few days. However, with the rest of her wounds, she won't be fully healed for a week and a half," Gaius stated.

"The man really _is_ an expert in torture," Arthur responded as he and Merlin laid Arien down. "They're supposed to get married in two weeks and she needed to be somewhat presentable for that."

"This explains quite a bit," Gaius muttered. To Arthur and Merlin, he said, "Get your rest. You'll need to be sharp if you want to explain this situation to Uther and have him sort things out."

"I want you up early, Merlin. We're going to get as much of this sorted out as we can without Arien. She can speak with my father when she's healed," Arthur ordered Merlin.

"Can't I just stay here with her?" he pleaded.

"Merlin, your loyalties are to Arthur. You must go with him tomorrow because you were one of the few people who knew in full what Arien's situation was," Gaius muttered to Merlin.

"Very well. I'm writing her a note, though—if I can't be there when she wakes up, she'll at least hear my voice. Kind of," Merlin decided.

"I'll agree to that," Arthur said. "Someone should alert Aurelia as well—she's probably been pacing nonstop for the past few days."

"I can do that after the letter," Merlin said.

"All right. I'll go with you. Besides, I feel rather obliged to sit here and watch you write your love letter—without supervision, you'd stay up with her all night," Arthur stated.

Merlin muttered something under his breath before he sat down and began to write to Arien.

* * *

_Second time this week_, Aurelia thought when she heard the knock on her door. It wasn't as if she'd been sleeping, though—she'd spent the long hours fiddling with every imaginable part of her house, worrying about Arien all the while.

She lightly ran to the door and opened it, expecting to see only Merlin. Aurelia was shocked to find Merlin and Prince Arthur standing on her doorstep side by side. "She's safe. Gaius is taking care of her now if you want to go," Merlin explained.

"What did he do to her?" Aurelia inquired worriedly.

"Cracked her ribs, cut and bruised her entire body, gave her a concussion and a nasty wound on her left arm as far as we know. Merlin and I are going to speak with my father tomorrow to make sure that Brant is punished for what he's done," Arthur told her.

"Thank you, Merlin and Your Highness," Aurelia murmured, curtsying to them. "I'll go to see her right now."

"You're excused from your duties for today…tomorrow…whatever day it is," Arthur said. "Gaius will need help anyways, and Merlin's going to be very busy."

"No thanks to you," he muttered.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur snapped.

* * *

Light.

Finally—real, uncensored sunlight. It shot through the window and fell across Arien's body. "I'm back in Camelot!" she whispered.

"ARIEN! You're up!" Aurelia nearly screamed.

"Well, I'm awake, and I'd really love to get up, but that seems a bit difficult with my ribs," Arien replied, smiling weakly.

"And you definitely should not move. Brant did some severe damage to your ribs. Right now, they are wrapped rather tightly. It might hurt at first, but they will heal well," Gaius told her. "Merlin and Arthur are convincing Uther that Brant should be punished and your marriage should be annulled, but now that you're up, Aurelia is supposed to fetch Merlin so that he can see you."

Arien blinked twice, trying to absorb everything. "Well, thank you Gaius. And Aurelia…I'm guessing you've been sitting here since I was brought in, so get some rest," she said finally.

"I'm going to get Merlin first. He really wants to see you. And if you hadn't assumed it already, I am glad you're alive," Aurelia murmured, hugging Arien gently before she got up and left.

"Oh, Merlin left something for you," Gaius recalled, placing something in Arien's hands. "I know it will not be easy to read lying down, but I'm not allowing you to get up and move around until Merlin takes you to Uther."

Arien took the piece of parchment from Gaius and read what was written on it.

* * *

**_Dear Arien,_**

**_I want my voice to be the first thing you hear when you wake up and are forced to face the pain. In case I'm not here to talk to you, I've left you this._**

**_The days without you were horrible—I didn't know what was happening to you. I don't understand how a man could ever torture a woman for his own pleasure, especially someone like you. You are the most amazing person I've ever met, Arien, and I hope that Brant is severely punished for what he did to you (and plenty of other people)._**

**_I can't imagine how badly you must hurt now—you have several cracked ribs (one may be broken; Gaius said he's not completely sure), a wound that was starting to fester, that concussion, and plenty of cuts and bruises. Just… think of your dreams, all the times we've talked, and what will happen to Brant—pleasant thoughts. (The last one's a bit morbid, but still…)_**

**_Hopefully Gaius or Aurelia will fetch me soon after you wake—they promised to do so if I wasn't already there. And Arthur promised to let me go, no matter what I'm doing at the time, so you will see me soon after reading this._**

**_Before I go, there's something I want to ask you about. Arthur told me that when he woke you in Brant's manor, the first thing you mumbled was my name, out of all the things you could've said. I thought he was just trying to motivate me, but I heard you whispering it before we returned to Camelot. At one point, you woke up almost completely and said something about my love bringing you through the time with Brant. I don't know if you remember any of this, but if you do remember and you did mean what you were saying…thank you. Nothing could ever mean more to me than knowing that you've gotten as much joy out of our…well, we're both very happy to be around one another. And we're in love. I can't think of a more poetic way to say that._**

**_Well, I have to go and explain this whole situation to Uther with Arthur (he's standing over my shoulder) early tomorrow, so I need to sleep at least a bit. Arthur says hello and hopes you feel better soon, mainly because he wants me to work better. (Of course.) And he read what I just wrote, so he has just called me an idiot._**

**You are, _Mer_lin. Feel better, Arien (again). Try not to fall asleep while reading this, at least not until you reach the best part.**

**_This is my letter, Arthur._**

**_Anyways, feel better. And…I love you. More than you can comprehend, probably._**

**_(Arthur just read that and laughed at me. Prat.)_**

**Idiot. (Sorry Arien, not you.)**

**_Sorry about that. I do love you a lot, Arien._**

**_Love (redundant; sorry),_**

**_Merlin_**

* * *

Tears were running down Arien's face by the end of the letter. How could she ever love anyone other than this young man who felt so passionately for her in return? He'd risked his life to save her and he was still so innocently awed whenever he saw how much she loved him. If love was friendship on fire, someone had poured oil over what was between her and Merlin. "What time is it?" she asked Gaius.

"Late afternoon," he replied. "Arthur and Merlin have been up for hours, talking to Uther about the situation whenever the king has a free moment."

"Do you think Uther will agree to it?" Arien asked Gaius.

"I think you will persuade him to annul your engagement quite quickly," Gaius revealed.

Before Arien could say anything else, Merlin came bursting through the doors and immediately knelt beside Arien. "You're better," he said breathlessly.

"I believe I have you to thank for that, as well as the lovely note you left me. I still wish you would have been here, but…that was unbelievably sweet of you," she replied, taking Merlin's hand. "And yes, I do remember saying your name a few times, though I can't say I recall telling you that you brought me through the torture. You did, though, and I don't think I can ever do anything to let you know how much that means to me."

"I'm just glad you're going to be all right," he murmured, squeezing her hand.

Arien's heart swelled with joy. "Come closer," she told him.

Merlin moved so that his face was directly over hers, their eyes locked. Arien placed a hand on one side of Merlin's face and kissed his cheek. "That's the most I can say right now," she whispered, looking deeply into his eyes.

"It's enough," he replied. "We're going to talk to Uther right now and fix this whole mess."

"Sounds excellent. Just…help me up, please," Arien requested.

Merlin moved away from her a bit and took both of her hands in his. "Slowly," he told her.

Arien was wary as she sat up, relying heavily on Merlin to sit up. She was still for a moment after sitting, catching her breath. "Careful," he reminded her.

"Yes, I know," she replied, standing very cautiously.

Once she was on her feet, Merlin embraced her very deliberately, keeping his arms further up her back so he wouldn't hurt her damaged ribs even more. "I love you," he murmured into her ear.

"Love you too," she replied as they slowly pulled away.

A few moments later, Arien added. "I think I'm ready."

"Let's go, then," Merlin said, taking Arien's hand as they walked towards the door.

He could feel his heart racing with excitement. With a bit of luck, Arien would no longer be engaged to Brant. _Finally_, he would be able to have a normal relationship with Arien—no more suppressed emotions.

* * *

"Arthur, I cannot wait for them all day," Uther told his son. Merlin had left them quite a while ago and still hadn't returned with Arien.

"She can't walk at a normal speed, Father. Brant injured her quite severely, but Gaius says that she'll recover. Eventually," Arthur explained.

They stood and waited for several long minutes of silence. Finally, Arien walked through the doors with Merlin at her side. She held herself stiffly and walked slowly. "I apologize for my tardiness, Your Majesty," she said to Uther, curtsying without bending at the waist. "And I apologize for my inadequate show of fealty—the damage to my ribs does not allow me to bend without bringing great pain."

"You are forgiven. Arthur and Merlin have explained what happened to you, but in order to judge adequately, I must hear the tale from your own mouth—the entire thing, beginning with Brant's proposal to you," Uther ordered her.

Arien then explained the whole situation to Uther, not leaving out a detail. When she reached the part where Brant drugged her, Merlin and Arthur helped fill in the missing pieces of her story.

Uther was suppressing anger by the time Arien finished. "This has been going on in my kingdom and no one spoke to stop it?" he cried.

In a more subdued tone, he added, "I must speak with the woman from Greendale who warned you before taking any formal action against him, but for now, as king of Camelot, I pronounce the betrothal between Arien of Greendale and Lord Brant void!"

Arien and Merlin looked at one another, anxiously awaiting their dismissal. "Thank you, my king," Arien told Uther, curtsying again.

She wobbled slightly as she came up, causing Merlin to quickly put his arm around her waist. "I can see that you are exhausted. Go and rest, Arien. I will not call you back until you are fully healed, except in the utmost need," Uther told her.

She walked as quickly as she could out the doors, Merlin beside her the whole time. They hurried to the courtyards and found a place away from the bustle of the central meeting place. "I'm free," Arien whispered to Merlin, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Finally," he sighed in relief, smiling at her.

Both of them were waiting for one moment—the same thing they'd been wishing for ever since the night everything had changed between them. Merlin slowly brushed a strand of hair behind Arien's ear. He could hear her breathing slow down. She was waiting for him.

Merlin turned his head and slowly moved towards Arien, savoring every second. As their lips met, Arien put her hands on Merlin's shoulders, taking half a step closer to him. He made her feel safe, more so than anyone else. Perhaps it was the knowledge of her magic that made her so sure of Merlin's capabilities, but with him, she couldn't be afraid.

As they unwillingly moved apart, Merlin pulled Arien into an embrace. "I've been waiting for this for over a month now," he murmured happily to her.

"I'm not entirely sure how you feel, but it was worth every second of the wait," Arien replied, leaning in to kiss Merlin again.

He gladly accepted her advance, relishing the feeling of her soft lips against his. "You're all right to stand?" he asked her.

"Merlin, I'm all right to climb a _mountain_," she responded.


	13. The Last Blue Rose

**A/N: So. This is it. The very last chapter of my first **_**Merlin**_** fic. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read and/or review this; it means so much to me that you're following my work and, hopefully, enjoying it for the most part. **

**As always, I don't own **_**Merlin**_** (although I really wish I did); it is the property of Arthurian legend writers/NBC/BBC/Syfy.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Arien was healed, Brant had been beheaded in public (after a lengthy explanation of what he had done was given), and Camelot hadn't been threatened by magic for weeks. Naturally, Merlin was deliriously happy. Yet he sensed that something was going to change—soon.

It finally happened one evening towards the end of the summer. He was walking Arien home, as he had every evening for more than two months. They stopped outside her doorway as usual, but instead of kissing him goodnight, Arien said, "Merlin…I'm thinking of leaving Camelot."

A thousand horrible thoughts raced through Merlin's head, which he eloquently summed up in one word:

"Why?"

Arien sighed heavily. "It's not because of you, Merlin. In fact, you're the reason I'm considering not leaving. A bard arrived here a few days ago—a middle-aged woman who has traveled the world singing and telling tales. We talked, and I explained to her that I wanted to be a bard. She asked me to sing for her and…she said that I was excellent. She wants me to travel with her so that I can learn more about it. I told her I'd think about it, which I have. I honestly don't know what to do, so I want your opinion," she explained.

Merlin wanted to keep her here forever. _It's her dream_, he reminded himself. _She deserves to pursue it_.

"When would you leave?" he asked.

"A week," she replied.

"It's your dream, Arien. Follow it," he told her. "But I promise to make this week the best of your entire life."

Tears began to run down Arien's face. "I'll still love you. And I promise to come back one day, "she sobbed, embracing Merlin tightly.

"I will never forget you," he vowed. "I love you, Arien. You've given me so much."

She laughed through her tears. "_I've_ given _you_ so much? You saved my life and rid the world of Brant! The only thing I've done is loved you."  
"Not only that, Arien, but you are the first normal person who knows about me. You have convinced me that I might be able to openly use it. And I never expected your love, but it's more than I ever dreamt it would be," he replied.

"Merlin, I'll tell you now that after I leave…we might still love one another, but I don't know how long it will last on either end. So…if someone else comes along while I'm away and you love her…don't force yourself away because of me," she told him.

"I can't think of anyone else now, but…I give you permission to do the same," he said in response.

"There is no one in all of Camelot who is as sweet as you," she murmured, kissing him with all the passion she could muster.

"Arien…these months have been the best of my whole life. I just want you to know that…I'll always love you. Maybe not always like this, but I always will," he declared.

"I'm leaving to be a bard and I couldn't have said it more beautifully myself," Arien said. "I might be going down a great path now, but there's something much bigger for you. I can sense it."

Merlin laughed. "Tell that to Arthur," he muttered, kissing Arien slowly.

This next week would be the greatest beauty and tragedy of his life.

* * *

**A/N (again): Personally, I would love to know how this ends, which is why I will be writing a sequel. Whether or not I'll be publishing it…is up to you. ;)**


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